Daily Bread

Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake their way,
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

There's nothing like a good bit of perspective to begin the day, and there is great comfort to be found in the fact that God is much bigger and better than we can possibly imagine. If you think of the best qualities of a human and then amplify them a billion times, you still do not come close to the compassion, love, and awesomeness of God. If we could only glimpse the thoughts of God then we would no doubt find lasting inner peace and rest for our souls, and this is what God, speaking through the prophet Isaiah is calling us to do. God wants to be found.

God the Son became incarnate — a human — so that the God who is heavenly could be found on earth; that a God who is distant from humanity could come near. One of the messages of Jesus was this very phrase, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," meaning God had come near to to the people, and he called them to repent, which means to turn around and change direction — to physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually respond.

The incarnation was God's initiative, spawned by a love that is so great that God closed the gap between heaven and earth, literally bringing heaven to earth in the person of Jesus, and the good news is that we can still call upon Jesus today.

If you are feeling alone, tired, unwell, unworthy, heavy, burdened, lost, or sad, then seek Jesus. God has taken the initiative, and done it all. All you need to do is call upon him. Ask, and the Spirit will be given to you; come to God and you will find rest for your soul.

Holy God
Your ways are higher than my ways,
and your thoughts are higher than my thoughts.
Help me trust in your unfailing love
and to call upon your name.
Fill me with your Holy Spirit
and bring rest to my soul this day.
Through Jesus Christ my Saviour.