A Call to Holiness

Scripture

“'It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending Him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with His glory!” Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.” Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:1-8 NLT

Observation

I love Isaiah’s humbleness in this passage. He recognizes that he is far from perfect. He sins; he is surrounded by sinners. He feels like he is not good enough to be called by God. I don’t know about you, but I can relate to that. I try my best to live a faith-driven life. I aim to focus on God in all things. I want to please Him in everything I do. I strive to build my prayer life. I am open about my faith at my workplace; which, let’s be honest, can be really hard to do. 
Yet, we are human. We are going to sin, even when we try our hardest not to. Our fleshly desires will be in a battle with our spirit daily. We have to focus on His still small voice, to be able to focus on His call for us. The world can be loud! It will tell us to live the way we want to live. It will tell us that our feelings are more important than doing the Godly thing. We need to look at God, not as another friend, we need to look at Him with reverence, and awe. When we finally do that, we can work on getting to know Him, and in turn, get to know who we are IN Him. We were called to be holy (Isaiah 64:6). The closer we get to knowing Him, and wanting to hear His voice, the more clear it will become. 
I’m encouraged by today’s scripture, to know that when we recognize that we are sinners, and we repent, He is so faithful to forgive us, and He will use us to be His messengers. Praise God that we aren’t doomed, like Isaiah thought! Our life is just getting started. 

Application

Is there something that is holding you back from diving a little deeper in your faith? Do you take intentional steps to make time to get to know God? What are some things you can do, to be more intentional with making your relationship with Him a priority in your life? 

Prayer

Lord, thank You for using sinners like us to do Your work. I pray, God, that You fill us with love and compassion, remind us that we don’t have to be perfect to serve a perfect God; we simply need to be intentional about seeking You in all that we do. I pray that You break the chains of past sins, and wash us clean. Please lead us while we seek to humbly serve You. I pray, God, that You meet Your people where they are, and that You equip us to carry out Your will. In Jesus name, amen!