Weekly Devotional: September 23, 2026

DEVOTIONAL BY:
Major Kelly English
Corps Officer of Fairfax County, VA

GOD’S WORD
Isaiah 55:1-9

DEVOTIONAL
“Are You Thirsty?…COME”

TRUE LIVING WATERS

Three words would often come from my sisters and me, especially in the summertime: "Mum, I'm thirsty.” After hours of play, chasing, and wandering in the neighborhood, trying to get into some adventure, Mum would always direct us to the refrigerator, where she kept a pitcher of ice water, and say, "Go get some water." It was always on point. We would drink the water, and we could feel the coolness go all the way down to our toes. Sometimes it felt like it went all the way to our soul!

She would never reject anyone who came for water. Sometimes as many as eight of us from the neighborhood would come after hard play. She would bring out cups of ice water and give them to all of us. It was always better than drinking water from the water hose, the calling card of every Gen Xer! There were no conditions for the water. There was no payment needed. There was only presence and gratitude.

As a kid, I had no idea that what I was seeing my parents do was actually an example of Isaiah 55:1-9. "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters." When God makes this invitation, it's unconditional. It's not only for the elite. It's not only for the people who have life figured out, if you will. It is for any and everyone who is thirsty. We know God is speaking through Isaiah because He can see the spiritual thirst mankind finds itself in. There is a thirst for meaning, a thirst for peace, a thirst for forgiveness, a thirst for love.

The world, not truly understanding what true living water is, can only offer stagnant substitutes to try and quench this thirst. The world offers fleeting substitutes like positions, which often fade. Success is nebulous entertainment, and approval ends when the applause ends.

HE INVITES US TO SOMETHING BETTER

In verse two, Isaiah asks: Why do you spend your money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? He can see mankind's struggle. He can see just how lost and empty they are. God is not condemning. He is inviting you to something far better. You can just see Him leaning in as He says, "Listen diligently to Me and delight yourself in rich food." We know that it is God who satisfies the deepest, deepest hunger of the soul!

What really stands out is that the invitation is free, bought without money. Milk and wine without price. See, this is what the world cannot sell: grace. Our salvation through this free invitation isn't earned by any religious activity or human effort. It's offered freely. God offers His mercy and grace freely. Because of the way He loves us, He ultimately points toward what Jesus would do. Remember the woman at the well, given living water that satisfied all her thirst. Remember how she carried this living water back to Samaria and shared it. She said, “Come and behold the man who revealed all these things to me, and behold, all who flocked to hear Jesus found blessing and fulfillment.”

HIS THOUGHTS AND WAYS

He calls on the wicked and wayward to turn from their ways.  Forget about the past; His mercy is waiting. It overflows for anyone who will receive it. Nothing we have done is too great for God to forgive. His mercy is always greater than our sin. I love that His thoughts are not our thoughts. He says it: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways."  

Isaiah speaks these words from an eternal perspective. While we are small and only a fragment, His ways are higher than the heavens. While we are thinking about momentary satisfaction, His thoughts are not ours. Praise God! It means His ways are holier and higher. It means His ways are wiser, better, unlimited, and more loving than our limited understanding can grasp.

We are still invited today by the God of this universe to put down self-reliance and come.

• Come with your questions
• Come with your weariness
• Come with your failures
• Come thirsty
• Come to the waters
• Don't bring any money
• Don't bring anything else
• Drink, eat, be satisfied, and be filled with mercy, peace, and eternal satisfaction in the presence of God