Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him: and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isaiah 55:7
This has to be one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible. It shows us “the way back home.” Sometimes we stray from the Lord. Sometimes we disobey Him. Sometimes we even rebel against Him. Like the prodigal son, we sometimes wander “to the far country.” Not all of us stray to same degree or in the same way, but not one of us is perfect. We are all, to one extent or another, “prone to wander.” It is to those wandering ones that this verse is written. If you have strayed from God, here is the way to go home.
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” When you find that you have strayed from the Lord, the first and most obvious thing to do is to quit straying. That sounds simple, but sometimes it’s the hardest part. It’s easy to tell an alcoholic to stop drinking, but it’s a little more difficult for him to do it. Just about everyone I know who smokes says they need to quit, but very few of them actually do. Whatever sin you have found yourself in, stop it; or, in the words of this verse, “forsake your way.” Turn around. Again, this is not easy to do in our own power, but we have the Holy Spirit to help us resist temptation!
After we have “forsaken our erroneous way,” we then need to come to the Lord for forgiveness and cleansing. The next part of the verse tells us “let him return unto the Lord…” He has promised to forgive us if we will come to him, humbling ourselves and confessing our sins.
The last part of the verse is a wonderful promise that if we will forsake our wicked way and will return to Him, “he will have mercy upon him” and that “he will abundantly pardon.” It doesn’t just say that He will pardon us; it says that He will “abundantly pardon” us. That is a promise that we can rely on!
On a personal note, I have been there. I have strayed from the Lord. It’s not a pleasant place to be and it breaks my heart to see people struggling on in their sin, never stopping to think that the Lord will forgive and heal them if they will only return to Him. If you find yourself in that position today, please don’t keep resisting the Lord. There is hope and it is found in Jesus Christ!
Justified Freely 
Posted by Debbie on December 29, 2010 at 10:03 am
This is such a wonderful post, Ben. His promises are so precious and real. The turning away part . . .we get so used to our sin. Afraid of what we might look like without it. I remember praying for Him to help me want to want to stop. And I can still use that today on any number of things that I struggle with. The wonderful part is that He meets us in it all. It’s not something that we have to do all of our own. I joined a project this last month that had us looking for joy all throughout the day. Sounds simple and not that life changing, but getting in that habit helped me to stop stressing so much, to be more peaceful and content, forsaking my former way of dealing with pressure and turning to the Lord, my Joy. God bless you Ben!
Posted by justifiedfreely on December 31, 2010 at 11:53 am
That’s so true that we just get used to our sin and are afraid to leave it. And He does meet us, and help us every step of the way, which is a great encouragement to me. Looking for joy throughout the day does sound like a great thing to do- I’ll have to start making a conscious effort to do just that!
Posted by Syrophenician Woman on January 17, 2011 at 11:17 am
What a blessed truth, and not one for a Prodigal only, but also a practical one for our everyday lives. How I need this truth in my life daily!
Posted by justifiedfreely on January 18, 2011 at 12:11 pm
Every one of us can use this truth in our lives. It is so simple but so helpful at the same time. Our whole life is a continual coming to Christ- He is all we need!