1 Wait and listen, everyone who is thirsty! Come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Yes, come, buy [priceless, spiritual] wine and milk without money and without price [simply for the self-surrender that accepts the blessing].

2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your earnings for what does not satisfy? Hearken diligently to Me, and eat what is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness [the profuseness of spiritual joy]. – Isaiah 55:1-2, Amplified Bible (AMP)

Once upon a time, I knew a man who was monetarily rich. He had done very well for himself in several business ventures, and he was a millionaire several times over. Although he professed to be a Christian, he did not walk his talk. He often lied and cheated in his business dealings, and when things got tough financially, he engaged in an illegal money-making scheme that eventually sent him to jail.

During the good times, and before he went to jail, this man gave generous gifts to several charities, particularly Christian ones. I became aware of his generous giving at about the same time I became aware of his bad behavior, and I could not help but think, knowing that his behavior did not reflect his stated beliefs, that he was trying to buy spiritual peace. He must have thought that, if he gave tons of money to Christian causes, then he would be able to erase the guilt that came with his bad behavior. As time would prove – and as the Bible teaches – such was not the case, and he now occupies a jail cell with the guilt he could not erase.

The Israelites of Isaiah’s day suffered the same delusion as the man mentioned above. Prone to buying all sorts of items related to their idol worship, the Israelites wasted untold amounts of money trying to buy the peace that they could never gain apart from God. Lest we think that we don’t have this problem, we should examine how we spend our money. Do we, like the man above, gift great gifts to charity in order to cover up some sin we won’t let go? Do we, like the Israelites, attempt to replace God’s peace with the modern-day idols – like possessions, sports, and entertainment – that the world teaches will give us joy? (Although possessions, sports, and entertainment are not inherently evil, many people have given the bulk of their time and money to such, truly making them their gods.) And what if we are in a season of life where money is scarce? Does that mean we are destined to be miserable since we don’t have the means to buy happiness? Isaiah 55:1-2 teaches us that buying contentment is impossible; only by surrendering ourselves to God, thereby receiving His free blessing of peace, can we experience lasting soul satisfaction.

Don’t fall into Satan’s trap. There is NOTHING we can buy with money that will grant us true contentment of the soul. Only self-surrender to God can provide that, so make sure you don’t waste the hard-earned money God has given you on things that are not able to satisfy the soul.

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