In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Above him were seraphs, 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 seraphs 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!" (Isaiah 6:1-8)
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This passage was presented to me twice the other day, once when I was spending quiet time with the Lord and a second time that same day during church. I have always loved this passage and each time I read it I cannot help but ask myself if this is how I view God and if that is so than how does it affect the way I live.
I've been reading through Whatever Happened to Worship by A.W. Tozer and it is nothing less than beautiful and incredibly powerful. The last chapter I finished is called "Awed by the Presence of God." The basic premise of this chapter is a fresh look at some of the characteristics of God, mainly his Holiness. Tozer speaks about the fact that God is other than us, and there should be a sort of strangeness when we encounter the God of all creation. This transcendent God that we follow leaves his imprint on our lives and as we follow him there will be a mystery surrounding his followers as well. We should be "walking mysteries." "Through the leading and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Christian is involved in a daily life and habit that cannot be explained." When we come face to face with the truth of the Living God we come before a Holy God unblemished in every way.
"There should be a birth from above and within. There should be the terror of seeing ourselves in violent contrast to the holy, holy, holy God. Unless we come into this place of conviction and pain, I am not sure how deep and real our repentance will ever be...With each of us, if we are to have that assurance of forgiveness and restored moral innocence, the fire of God's grace must touch us. It is only through the depths of the forgiving love of God that men and women can be restored and made ready to serve Him." (Page 76 & 77)
"I tell you again that God has saved us to be worshipers. May God show us a vision of ourselves that will disvalue us to the point of total devaluation. From there He can raise us up to worship Him and praise Him and to witness." (page 78)
The Chapman family has been on my heart ever since the tragic accident that took the life of their youngest daughter Maria. I've followed their story since May and I have been in awe of the strength that the Lord has given them during this unbearable heartache. I have watched some interviews with this family lately and I can't help but walk away praising God for his faithfulness. I can only imagine the thousands of people who have been impacted by their story. They have shared with striking honesty the struggle of this journey but through it all God's name continues to be glorified. There is no way to fully understand the God we serve but there is hope in knowing that we belong to God, in the midst of joy and in the darkest valley of death we are His.
