Isaiah 1:18 
“Come now, let us settle the matter,” 
says the LORD. 
“Though your sins are like scarlet, 
they shall be as white as snow; 
though they are red as crimson, 
they shall be like wool.” (NIV)

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Chapter one of Isaiah is not a happy text. You don’t even have to listen carefully to hear the uncomfortable tones. God is not happy with his people, and he tells them why. He makes it plain. He is straightforward and blunt. 

After 17 verses of hard words, we come to verse 18. Here’s what God says:

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” 
says the LORD. 
“Though your sins are like scarlet, 
they shall be as white as snow; 
though they are red as crimson, 
they shall be like wool.”

It was time to settle up with God. He could have damned the people to destruction because of all the things he describes in the verses leading up to this one. Instead, he offers an invitation to come clean, to start over, to find refreshment in relationship with himself. 

God is kinder than you imagine, more loving than you can conceive. His mercy endures forever. And still, there are people who obstinately refuse His amazing grace. 

Take a look at verse 19:

“If you are willing and obedient, 
you will eat the good things of the land;”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭1‬:‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Accepting God’s invitation provides all the good things we truly desire and need. God’s Greater Yes lies on the other side of our willing and obedient hearts. Choosing His way, the way of life, the way of healthy abundance, brings His gifts for our needs. 

God loves rebels. He loves them so much that he invites them to turn from their rebellion to find the peace and provision they long for. He invites them to start fresh, to begin again more intelligently. 

Notice how this is more about what God wants for us than what he wants from us. He is eminently more qualified to take care of us than we are to take care of ourselves. In fact, there are some things we just cannot do for ourselves. Only God can do them for us, so why do we keep trying to be God when we’ve already got a Father in Heaven who loves us supremely?

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I will accept God’s invitation to a life that is full and meaningful. 

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Our Father, please forgive me for trying to be my own provider. Please forgive me for trying to be my own God. Please forgive me for rejecting all of your good and perfect gifts in exchange for tawdry and temporary provisions of my own scavenging. I have been a stupid boy. Help me begin again more intelligently. Amen.