This week we encounter one of the most beautiful texts in the Old testament as it likens the circle journey of the Word of God, to the circle journey of rain and snow in creation as it comes to water and sustain life, returning to the heavens from whence it came. As the final verses of chapter 55 these creation pictures draw on a rich history in the Scriptures of the Word breathing life and making new all things. But it is also comforting and quite mysterious too how God’s Word manages in fact to work its way through and into our world and returning back to him like a boomerang; having done some quite profound things on its journey. Things that may even be entirely hidden to us but known only to God.
God does not always give you a glimpse about what he does with his Word either through the sermon, what is written in a card, or spoken to a friend. But when you do get to see these glimpses, it encourages us to know that God is amazingly economical with his Word. It cuts through everything, penetrates everything, and moves its way through our hearts and minds, never quite finished going from person to person until it has completed the course God has set for it.
You may know of someone such as a friend or family member whom you are praying for right now for their ears to open so that they can hear what God is saying to them. You may feel disappointment that the ministry of the Word appears to be pushed aside or completely ignored. But God’s Word is ‘sharper than a double-edged sword’ and it is doing things inside that we cannot see on the outside. We often have to be patient about how God chooses to do things and in his own way. So put your trust in God’s mysterious ways, and feed on the Word of God, as he loves you and wants to prosper you, and trust God’s use of his own Word in people, as it will never return empty-handed.
Pastor Matt

