“’My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up. These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name; they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love’.” Isaiah 55:8-13 (NLT)

Perspective:

In the context of Isaiah 55, there is an invitation to the Israelites to turn back to God. God promised the people a lasting covenant. Even though they had experienced difficult times, God’s Word held the promise of hope. Eventually, that promise of hope was fulfilled in Christ. God, seeing the totality of the human condition, decided to do something that would go beyond what we could comprehend- send Jesus. This one moment points to the character of God. In all of His ways, there is a distinction between our perspective and His perspective. He is able to see all of time when we can see just a fraction. The illustration of the seasons of rain and snow coming to earth to serve a purpose to bring about a harvest for the farmer shows the power of God’s Word to accomplish its purpose. In the same way that the seasons are consistent and true, God’s Word stands. It changes the very outcome of our lives when we allow it to change our hearts. We, in our sin, were headed down a path of death, but through Christ’s sacrifice, we can enter into the new life God offers. And God continues to bring forth newness out of the ashes of our lives.