Isaiah 55

Isaiah 55

Invitation to the Thirsty

¹ “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.

² Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

³ Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.

⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of the peoples.

⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”

⁶ Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.

⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.

⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

¹² You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.

¹³ Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed.”

We are building the walls with prayer

About 30 women gathered at the new Mercy Canada house last night.

We lit candles, prayed together, opened our Bibles and then began to write prayers and scriptures of hope all over every wall in that house.

I have to confess – I cried like a baby.

It was a powerful thing. All of the women there had their own story.

I spoke with one precious mother whose own daughter has struggled with self-harm, cutting and anorexia for years. She was there, as a mother, standing in the gap for all of those mothers whose daughters fight that battle. She wrote Scripture after Scripture on the walls, praying each one in a whisper.

In the bathrooms, there are now words about beauty and wholeness, about the glory of a woman fully surrendered to Jesus.

In the bedrooms, words of peace and rest, sleep and quiet. Whispers of love, shouts of joy.

In the dining rooms and gathering places, words of power, healing, strength and freedom.

We are speaking the words of life over them already. We are building this house with the prayers of many, the tears of the waiting and words of life. These words will be written again on the studs and frame of the house itself, carved into the foundation and then written in our hearts.

It’s been a long road to get here. We do everything debt-free and so we never take another step until we can pay for it in full. We bought the land (a beautiful 4.3 acres in south Surrey) and now we are about to renovate the house. And we’ll be open next year after the renovation.

You know what the means? In less than a year, she’ll be living there. Surrounded by love, compassion, wholeness. Receiving the help she so desperately needs.

She’ll be set free. Hope will be restored. And her life will be transformed.

Oh, my heart is grateful for all of our supporters. Look at what the Lord has done!

- Sarah