Isaiah 55:6-9 (ESV)

⁶ “Seek the Lord while he may be found;

call upon him while he is near;

⁷ let the wicked forsake his way,

and the unrighteous man his thoughts;

let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

⁸ For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God’s thoughts and God’s ways - they are SO DIFFERENT than our thoughts and our ways. Often times we can’t make sense of what’s going on around us, we try and find an answer to WHY things happen, and it often eludes us.

At our darker more cynical moments, we begin to question whether or not God is really in control, whether or not He really has a plan…

But then we have passages like this, and we are reminded of something so simple but SO PROFOUND.  The chapter opens with a call that goes out to all people, of all walks of life; and it say, “Come, drink, be filled, it’s free”. And on the heels of that call the Lord says, “Call on me while I am near, turn to me, give yourself to me… I AM THE ANSWER”.

He then reminds us of a truth that helps make sense of why we can’t always see how things will work out for the best. He is in heaven. We are on earth. His thoughts are higher than ours, His ways extend far beyond and above ours. Our vision, our understanding often terminates with the here and now. But the Lord’s, His vision and understanding extend far beyond that. He sees the end from the beginning. He knows where this is all going. And everything we do, everything that happens, is a part of His plan and purpose to “restore all things”.

So, next time you start to question, remember this thought… God’s ways are far above your ways!