Seeking the Path of God’s Abundance

Isaiah 55: 1-13

Roger Lynn

February 21, 2016

2nd Sunday in Lent

(click here for the audio for this sermon)

The season of Lent provides us with an opportunity to take a step back from the normal hectic pace of our living. We have a chance to spend some time in the wilderness - where the routines from which we often draw comfort fall away and the assumptions of life are reexamined. It can be an unsettling time, but it can also be a time of powerful growth, as previously hidden strengths and resources are discovered and explored. Wilderness is often perceive as an experience of scarcity (lack of resources, lack of support, lack of God), when actually it can be an experience of abundance - a time which is ripe with potential and new possibilities.

One of the benefits which can emerge from such wilderness reflection is a new sense of perspective. We begin to see our lives in a new and different light, and our priorities shift. Our sense of what is important is reoriented. Jesus emerged from his wilderness experience with a sense of purpose which propelled him into a ministry which would ultimately transform the world. When we are intentional about paying attention to God’s presence and leading in our lives, there really is no telling what might happen.

The Hebrew people in Isaiah’s day had been through their own wilderness experience. They had been living in exile - cut off from their homes and their way of life. It was an experience which would, in many ways, shape them and define them for generations to come. As they prepared to return, the writer of Isaiah 55 reminds them to pay attention to what really matters. Life is too precious and too fleeting to waste it on that which does not nourish us.

It is so easy to get caught up in the busy-ness of our living and lose sight of the bigger picture. There are so many things which vie for our attention - paying the bills, taking care of the house, watching all of our favorite TV shows, responding to the never-ending flow of e-mail, etc. etc. And over against that list, Isaiah asks the question, “Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy?” (Isaiah 55:2) Sometimes what we discover when we are willing to spend some time in the wilderness, listening for God’s voice and watching for God’s guidance, is that we have lost our way. Much of our time, energy, and resources are being consumed by that which does not enhance our lives or the lives of those around us. And above all else, God’s great desire is that all of God’s children experience abundance. “Listen, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! . . . Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; listen, so that you may live.” (Isaiah 55:1-3)

How do we know if we are truly following God’s leading? How can we be sure it is really God’s voice we are heeding? Is it a message of abundance, not only for us, but for all people? Is it a path which leads us towards enhanced living, not only for us, but for all people? These are good indications that the path we are on is a God-inspired path. If our lives are diminished, if we are cut off from those around us, if we are bound up with fear and anxiety and a sense of scarcity, then perhaps we need to listen more carefully, because it most certainly is not the voice of God which is leading us in such directions. When we are truly in the flow of God’s leading then our lives will reflect the reality of abundance and others will begin to notice. God’s abundance is attractive. “You shall call nations that you do not know, and nations that do not know you shall run to you.” (Isaiah 55:5)

God is always with us. God’s abundance always surrounds us. Why in the world wouldn’t we want that in our lives? Why in the world would we settle for anything less? And yet, we do it all the time. We forget. We get distracted. We get discouraged. We lose heart. We listen with our ears instead of with our hearts. We look with our eyes instead of with our faith. We stop paying attention to the ways in which God is present. And before you know it we are spending our money for that which is not bread, and our labor for that which does not satisfy. But the good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t have to continue down that path. God’s abundance doesn’t disappear just because we stop looking for it. God’s grace doesn’t abandon us simply because we lose heart. The writer of Isaiah 55 reminds the people of what they all too easily and all too often forget. “For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle.” (Isaiah 55:12-13) The words of Isaiah can serve as a reminder for all of us, so that as we remember we will once again be transformed by the reality of God’s abundance.

In this season of Lent, I invite you to take some time to step back from the normal routines of your living - to spend some time in the wilderness. I invite you to reflect on what really matters, and what it means to live in the midst of God’s abundance.