(Loosely) Isaiah 55

Hey, you, the one kind of struggling—come here. I know you don't have anything to give me back, that's OK. Rest here, draw strength, let me feed you and take care of you. Do you need a hug?

Dear one, why are you putting your resources into things that don't make you happy? Why are you spending your energy on things that don't fill you up?

Come here, listen to me, and you will remember what it's like to feel alive and joyful. I will make the same promises with you that I made with those that came before you, and you will be sure of my mercy and tenderness.

Come here, listen to me, sit by me—this is a good world with beautiful things in it, so look for the good and the beautiful and fill yourself with those. Delight in the sunshine and bread rising like magic and rain starting right when you fall asleep. Glory in songs that make you cry, sleep so good you don’t remember getting it, stories that make you feel known, relationships that make you better, and see God in all of those things.

Look for me where I am, acknowledge me when you see me, talk to me when I'm there, and let go of those things that weigh you down, that put you in darkness. Come back to me, we can talk, I'm not going to be mad.

Because I don't think the way you think, and I don't do things the way you do things. The way I do things, the way I think, it's better than what you imagine, better than anything else like the sky is taller than anything else. And just like the sky sends rain and makes the world beautiful and green and habitable—that's how interactions with me will make your life joyful and filled with purpose and forgiveness, for yourself and others.

When you talk to me, you'll leave with more joy and peace, and the world around you will thrum and sing with pleasure in creation, and in everything you will see the Lord's presence and love.