COLUMN: Grey Matters – Hoy! Come to the waters

“Hoy! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” -Isaiah 55:1 (NASB)

Each year Christians around the world observe the ‘Season of Creation’, a period of prayer and reflection that begins Sept. 1, the first day of the Orthodox church calendar, and concludes on October 4, the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of ecology. During these weeks, believers are invited to consider God’s gift of creation and humanity’s responsibility toward our common home.

Underlying this season is a profound question: Do we believe God has created a world of abundance, or do we live as though scarcity has the final word? Isaiah 55:1 offers a compelling invitation into God’s vision of abundance, justice, and restoration.

Isaiah 55 begins with a single Hebrew word, that many translators ignore. The word is ‘Hoy!’ and as an interrogative it is difficult to translate. It carries shades of warning, lament, relief, wonder, and urgent attention all at once. Messianic Jewish scholar Yaakov Brown describes it as a foreboding exclamation that combines awe and invitation.

It is as though God pauses the listener and says: Take a breath. Pay attention. There is more to the story. After chapters filled with struggle, judgment, and conflict, God speaks words of hope to those in a troubled land.

“Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters,” the verse continues. First, we are invited to recognize our thirst. God is the source of life and shalom, but we cannot truly receive what we do not acknowledge we need. We must admit our deep need for God’s sustenance. What exactly are these ‘waters’?

In ancient Hebrew culture, water carried complex meanings. On one hand, water was life itself in an arid climate where every drop mattered. On the other hand, large bodies of water often represented danger, chaos, and the unknown. The creation story begins with God bringing order to the waters by gathering them from land and sky and putting into defined areas.

Isaiah’s audience understood both realities. Earlier in the book, Judah is described as spiritually barren: “You will be like an oak with fading leaves, like a garden without water.” (Isaiah 1:30). The nation had experienced drought, both physically and spiritually. However, beginning in Isaiah 40, water becomes a recurring symbol of God’s renewal. The Lord promises to pour water on thirsty land and restore what has been depleted.

Isaiah 55:1-2 stands as the culmination of that promise: The water is here. Not only that, but there is also wine and milk. Not only that, but no money is required! God’s abundance is available to all who thirst.

The invitation of Isaiah 55 challenges more than our spiritual lives. It confronts the mindset through which we view the world. Leadership author Stephen Covey described two competing perspectives: the ‘scarcity mentality’ and the ‘abundance mentality’.

The scarcity mentality assumes there is only so much to go around. If someone else succeeds, gains recognition, or receives opportunity, there must be less available for everyone else. Life becomes a competition over limited resources, limited status, and limited worth.

The abundance mentality operates differently. It flows from a deep sense of security and trust. It believes there is enough. Abundance creates space for generosity, collaboration, creativity, and shared flourishing.

Isaiah 55 invites a similar transformation. God’s economy is not governed by scarcity but by abundance. What assumptions do we bring to life? Do we believe there is enough for everyone or just for those that have the money? Jesus seemed to have an abundance mentality when he declared: “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

The meaning of ‘waters’ goes deeper yet. In Amos 5:24 God proclaims: “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” God’s waters are not meant to be dammed up, privatized, or restricted. They flow outward, bringing life wherever they go. ‘Waters’ in this verse means to flood over. In this sense, the waters of Isaiah 55 also symbolize equality and justice for all people. God’s vision of abundance should extend beyond individual spiritual experience into social realities. God’s shalom includes communities where people can flourish together.

This invites difficult questions. Who doesn’t have access to clean water? Who is being excluded from the abundance that God intends for creation?

Today, over two billion people struggle to access safe drinking water (one in four). According to World Vision, in some places, women and girls walk six kilometers (3.7 miles) daily to collect water for their families. Every day poor sanitation and unsafe water contribute to thousands of preventable illnesses and deaths, especially among children. ‘Oh God, let justice flow!’

Gary Dyck is a chaplain and spiritual care provider at a hospital and personal care home in the Southeast.