“O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name,
For You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
For You have made a city a ruin, A fortified city a ruin, A palace of foreigners to be a city no more; It will never be rebuilt.
Therefore the strong people will glorify You; The city of the terrible nations will fear You.
For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress,
A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat; For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
You will reduce the noise of aliens, As heat in a dry place; As heat in the shadow of a cloud,
The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.
And in this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces,
A feast of wines on the lees,
Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees.
And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people,
And the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;
The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the Lord has spoken.
And it will be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
This is the Lord; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” ~ Isaiah 25
The upcoming holiday looked grim for Scott. He figured he’d simply be warming up some leftovers and spend his time watching television alone. Dreading the isolation, Scott decided to put an ad in the paper, inviting other lonely people to dinner. No less than twelve people showed up! That was 1985, and every year since, Scott has placed a similar ad, welcoming as many as 100 people and now meeting in a local church building. Homeless neighbors, those who’ve lost their family, strangers who can’t travel home—Scott sets a table big enough for all kinds of people.
Isaiah describes God’s intention to welcome every wayward straggler, all who are downtrodden or forgotten. He’s “a refuge to the poor . . . [a] refuge to the needy in distress” (25:4). With God, those who are desperate for friendship or forgiveness or hope can find their hearts’ desires. One day “the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will spread a wonderful feast for all the people of the world. It will be a delicious banquet with clear, well-aged wine and choice meat” (v. 6). God widely extends the invitation, welcoming everyone to join Him for a feast—friends gathered around the table of grace.
This is God’s heart for us, and what He promises to do. We may bear the weight of loneliness or despair; but in Jesus, God welcomes us. And if we’ll simply come, each of us will find our seat at a table with room for all.
– Winn Collier
Where have you experienced a welcoming table full of joy and prepared for all kinds of people? What does this image from Isaiah tell you about God?
God, I’m lonely, and I know others who feel the same way. We want Your table. We want to laugh and feast with You and with one another. Thank You for Your provision
