Monday, February 24, 2014

Our great God in troubled times.. Isaiah 6:1-8

Isaiah 6:1-8
 
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
    the whole earth is full of his glory.”
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
 
 
This is one of the most powerful call stories in the Bible!  It happened at a time when there was great despair throughout Israel because their great and beloved King Uzziah had died.... He served for 52 years and was the only king most of them had ever known...  It was a sad time indeed... Uzziah had done many wonderful things but sadly his life ended in shame.   Because of a mistake in usurping the roll of the Priest he became leprous... It was a sad story....
 
Yet Isaiah came to the temple to worship God and it was in that context and through this experience that God proved to him that no matter how sad things were without their beloved King.... He was bigger and more awesome!
 
Frankly I don't think that Isaiah's mind was at all focused on Uzziah's death when he saw the angels and the Lord.... What do you think?
 
I think this is a great reminder for all of us.  All of us have faced situations that have caused our heart to sink.  Perhaps that's where you heart is today. 
 
But from this passage I see three important principles... 
1st  Even in the worst of times we need to continue to seek the Lord in worship.  
2nd. During those times of worship we need to place ourselves before the Lord and allow him to  
reveal his glory always remembering that God is bigger than any problem we might have.
3rd.  It might be at the time of our greatest despair that God will reveal his plan for our lives in a most powerful way.  (I hope to talk about that later this week if I do better at keeping up with my blog that is hahah)
 
 
To ponder.   What is on your heart and mind today.  Are you willing to hand it over to the Lord and sing with the angels,  Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty.?

No comments: