Daily Reading // Isaiah 55:1-13
READY // SILENCIO
Take a moment to quiet your mind and prepare your heart for your time with the Lord.
READ // LECTIO
Read the passage above up to three times aloud. Allow yourself to feel the words as they are read.
REFLECT // MEDITATIO
Now direct your focus on the words, phrases concepts or sentences that got your attention. What is God speaking to you today through His word?
Isaiah 55:2 Why do you spend money for [what is] not bread, And your wages for [what] does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat [what is] good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.
I just started watching a show called ‘Alone’. It is a survival show. On this show there is no ‘tribe’. Ten individuals are tested to survive on their own. Each one is dropped off in a place all by themselves. They have no contact with their family, the other contestants, or the show’s production crew. They are all alone. The winner receives half of a million dollars.
From the ten contestants, I picked the one I thought would win. He is a military guy who trained in survival situations. He is young. He is tough. He is knowledgeable.
Over the first 28 days of the challenge, he proved me right. He built an amazing structure, built his resources of food and explored his area. When other contestants were starving and miserable, he was comfortable and very well fed. He made a great place for himself in a rugged wilderness.
All of a sudden, he did the unexpected. He tapped out of the completion with six competitors still in the running. It was not because he was sick or injured or unprepared. He realized being away from his wife and kids for that length of time was not worth any payout. He decided what he was giving up was more important than money.
Some people never learn that lesson. What do I esteem as highly valuable in my life? Does my use of time and resources reflect what I say I value? There are things much more valuable than money and what money can buy.
RESPOND // ORATIO
Pray in response to what the Lord has spoken to you.
Lord, Give me wisdom to value things that really count. Keep me from the false allure of money and things that can be purchased but can not satisfy. Amen.
Tomorrow’s reading -> Isaiah 56:1-12