Many of us are probably used to receiving a sheer amount of invitations each day – perhaps to attend a celebratory event or class reunion, speak at a gathering, accept a friendship or connection online, or to like a post on social media. We may be excited by some of these invitations and jaded by others. What would an invitation from God look like?
We find the following invitation from Him in Isaiah 55:1-7 (NIV):
“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters…Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare… listen, that you may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples…for he has endowed you with splendour.” Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near… Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”
Come to Him. Our spiritual thirst can only be quenched by the living waters of God. In fact, all our human needs are only met in God. We do not have to fill the vacuum in our lives with fleeting pleasures or man-made accomplishments. These earthly acquisitions do not bring about lasting satisfaction in our search for significance.
Listen to Him. In a world of competing voices, we tend to listen selectively to God’s instructions. However, biblical listening is listening with a posture of obedience. When God speaks, each of us needs to come to Him with attentive ears and heart. When we listen well, we live well too.
Behold Him. Pause. Behold the goodness and greatness of God around us. Give thanks for His gracious workings in our lives and worship Him because He is the Holy One, and He has endowed us with splendour and beauty. Where we train our eyes to behold determines our response to life’s situations. When circumstances overwhelm and discourage, God wants us to look to Him.
Seek Him. To seek the Lord means to pursue Him and be found in His presence. When we are feeling lost and distant from God, we can call out to Him (Psalm 145:18). God is always near! The psalmist writes, “But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do” – Psalm 73:28 (NIV).
Turn to Him. This is an invitation to turn from our sinful lifestyles and carnal thoughts, and turn to God in true repentance. We are assured of God’s promise of forgiveness and mercy assured when we confess to Him. “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” – Proverbs 28:13 (NIV)
This invitation to come, listen, behold, seek and turn to Him is a standing invitation that does not have a deadline. God is waiting to restore your soul, fill you with His peace and lavish His love and grace upon you as soon as you accept the invitation. As we enter a new year, let us not keep Him waiting. R.S.V.P. now!
Lam Kok Hiang has over 30 years of experience in full-time Christian vocational ministry. He holds a MA (Biblical Studies) from Dallas Theological Seminary and has led Cru Singapore as National Team Leader since 2006. An avid runner, Kok Hiang shares a love for books with his wife, Sharon. Together, their desire is to see young leaders rise up in local churches and missions agencies across Asia.
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