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In the year that King Uzziah died,

 I saw the Lord sitting on a throne,

 high and lifted up,

 and the train of His robe filled the temple.

~Isaiah 6:1

 

Good morning dear sister!

Isn’t it glorious to know that, no matter what is going on, the Lord is sitting on His throne, high and lifted up?

Our God is eternal! He never sleeps, He never gets sick. He doesn’t age and His love for us never grows cold! His ear is always open to our call. His love plumbs the depths of our hearts. His wisdom beckons to our spirits; always willing to guide us in the path He has ordained for us!

But, it doesn’t always feel that way, does it? That is our shortcoming, not the Lord’s!

You see, when we begin to wander off God’s path, even if it’s only our mind wandering, circumstances start to look dark, ‘enemies’ seem relentless. We become discouraged and perhaps even decide to take matters into our own hands if we perceive that God seems silent.

In the verse above, the prophet Isaiah is feeling discouraged because the king, who had been good and wise, died tragically after transgressing against the Lord. King Uzziah was disobedient to God by taking holy matters into his own hands. How helpless Isaiah must have felt!

But the Lord encourages Him with a supernatural glimpse of the great throne room; the seraphim  flying around continually in worship, crying out “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory!” Their sole focus is on their heavenly Creator, His holiness, and His glory! Isn’t it interesting that the seraphim, out of all that God created, single out the earth as being full of His glory?

Ah ha! Lesson one; servants of the Lord devote every aspect of their being to Him! Their thoughts, their words and their actions are full of worship, adoration and obedience to God’s will!

"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created." (Rev 4:11)

Our God is worthy of our worship, with our whole being, in all circumstances!

As Isaiah witnessed the majesty and unfathomable glory of God, and the humility of the seraphim serving Him, he began to see himself with a different perspective! When Isaiah saw the Lord, he saw his own wretchedness and cried out “Woe is me, for I am undone!” (Is 6:5)

Have you ever felt undone, exposed, helpless? We allow our circumstances to beat us up sometimes and we despair, but God doesn’t beat Isaiah up in his weak state! God doesn’t treat him like the enemy, laughing at his frailty or ignorance. Neither does He taunt him. 

Instead, in Isaiah’s repentance, God cleanses him and commissions him.

Lesson two: When we repent, humble ourselves and are obedient to follow the way God has prepared, we need no strength or talent of our own, but only what He gives to us.  "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might."(Eph 6:10)  

After Isaiah is made clean, the Lord calls out “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?  Then, because he was truly prepared, Isaiah confidently answers, “ Here am I! Send me.”(Is 6:8)

At first, Isaiah saw a vision from the Lord, an outline of God’s plan for humanity. Now he was properly prepared to do the work of God; with a humble heart, cleansed lips and willingness to wait on God’s perfect timing..

Isaiah became known as the ‘Evangelical Prophet’, giving us glimpses of the promise of redemption through Jesus Christ! What a blessing for generations to come for thousands of years later!! 

At times we are motivated by our own desperate needs or desires.. We are tempted to take matters into our own hands before God’s timing is complete. We are not yet ready, or perhaps the object of our prayer is not yet ready. God calls us to wait for His glory!

We can take many lessons from Isaiah, but let it suffice for today to think of the steps he took to be of real service to God.

He saw the Lord rather than looking to himself and his ideas, which motivated him to worship God with His whole being. When he saw himself in his wretched state compared to the Father Almighty, he humbled himself and repented. After repenting, he was forgiven and cleansed, being made fit for God’s plan. Only then did he hear the call to work and could answer with confidence in the Lord, “Here am I, send me!”

All of us are waiting on God for something!  Do not lose heart or be dismayed, but trust in God and His timing! Our true service to God is hearing and obeying His call, and allowing ourselves to be the vessels and conduits of His love, grace, mercy and peace. And patience! Let’s not forget patience! 

Isaiah didn’t live to see the fruit of his vision, but we do! We are blessed to live in the fulfillment of God’s plan that continues to change the whole world today! His glory does indeed fill the earth! Let us pray that we may see God’s glory in every circumstance and, when the vision seems far off, to continue on in faith as we wait.

I close with this promise of hope for the vision that God has given to each one praying and waiting;

"For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (Hab 2:3)

God bless you dear sister! We keep loving Jesus and moving forward!

With love, your sister, Celeste