Rejoice in These Times

Isaiah 6:1-9

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!" He said, "Go and tell this people: " (NIV)

Isaiah is one of my favorite prophets. It contains the foretelling of Jesus' birth, our cornerstone and protector to come. As we read the Old Testament, we come to realize that only a few men and women heard from God and only at specific times or seasons. They were the prophets of old. They were the aids to the Kings of those times and protectors of God's chosen people.

There are many lessons to glean from the lives of the prophets. One thing I have noted is that they normally did not speak the Word of God to anyone unless they had that right of relationship. Either they were in the position to speak to the Kings and summoned by their king to do so or God made it very plain that they were to deliver a message to a dyeing people in person. By that, I mean that the people were at the end of their ropes and were desperate to hear a message!

Today, we are often too eager to give people a word (small "w" meaning our opinion) or a Word from God at the wrong time or in the wrong circumstances. We really get ourselves in trouble with thinking that we are someone's Holy Spirit. Over time, I have learned to do more listening and more praying before I open my mouth with a Word or word. This is especially true when dealing with fragile relationships amongst believers, remembering that they too hear from the Holy One. Anyone saved has the Spirit within. It is up to all to hear for themselves. We no longer live in the days of OLD where the only ones who heard were prophets. We all live with the Holy Spirit within us. Oh, yea, it does not matter if they are tongue-talking Christians either. ALL Christians hear if they have ears to hear.

Back to Isaiah-- Chapter 6:

King Uzziah was a good king. He reigned for fifty-two years in Judah and followed God fairly well for most of time of the throne. Under Uzziah, the nation prospered and was very strong economically and militarily. Now, he was dead, and Isaiah was concerned to say the least. What changes were going to take place now that a new king was assuming the throne? What was going to happen spiritually, economically, and militarily? Some of us may have these same concerns now.

When Isaiah finally got his eyes off the situation and off the King, he was able to see the Lord Himself! That certainly applies to us as well. How often we have our eyes focused on man and not on God. We think we can fix it, or we have the right advice! After all, it is our job, our family, our prestige, or our ingenuity that will pull us through. Or perhaps it is the doctor, the lawyer, the pill, and so forth that is the answer. Wrong! God is the only One with the answer! So take your eyes off self, off man and get them fixed on God.

God gave Isaiah a vision to calm his fears and concerns. Let's take a look at Isaiah's vision. Isaiah saw the Lord. You and I need to see Him too. The Lord is the real King. He sat as King at the flood, and He sits as King forever (Psalm 29:10). He is in charge of everything. His greatness and power knows no limit.

Regardless of who is President, God is the everlasting King who answers prayer (sometimes not in the way we want, but He still answers) and promises to take care of His children. Keep looking to Him, and keep putting Him first in your life.

Wait on God for a mission is at hand. If our motives are pure, the mission is there. Motives motivate the mind. Our mind in turn stimulates and energizes our body to action. Isaiah saw the Lord as great, powerful, and HOLY, HOLY, HOLY. WOW! He is Holy like a perfect diamond, in color blue-white, a flawless stone with each facet perfect and unique. Holy refers to the character of God. He is totally flawless.

When Isaiah saw God's holiness, he saw his own sinfulness, his imperfections. He cried out, "Woe is me, for I am ruined, undone, worthless!" And God took away His sin. God brought forgiveness and cleansing and sent Isaiah on a mission to "go and tell" the people about the Lord. God has given His children today the same mission.

You and I must go and tell people about the One who died and rose again. We are not to Bible bash people or tell them their sin. We must tell people about the Savior who is both holy and ready to forgive. Tell them about the Father's love for them and the power of the Holy Spirit within. We need to be a witness for Christ through our life ("you shall be holy for I am holy") and through our lips..

May we come undone in the presence of the Almighty. May we cry out "take the coal, burn my lips Here I am."

Get excited about the times we are in. Ask for a mission! Tell the Lord you want to be faithful to Him, His Call, and His purpose!

Pray

Pray for the nation and its leaders, regardless of party affiliation or core beliefs. Pray for yourself and God's people to get right, stay right, and stand up for righteousness, in spite of persecution and ridicule.

Witness

People desperately need to hear the truth: "I [Jesus] am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me" (John 14:6).

Trust Him

God does His greatest work in the worst of situations. The greatest miracle in the New Testament, apart from the resurrection of Christ, was the resurrection of Lazarus. Lazarus was four days dead. He was "stinking" dead and already buried. All hope was gone. It appeared to everyone that Jesus had not come through as Mary and Martha had hoped and prayed. Yet the Lord used these circumstances to bring about an even more amazing miracle that caused MANY to believe in Him.

I am believing God for His greatest work to come out of these difficult circumstances we are facing today. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all we ask or think.

Will you choose to rejoice and believe with me? The Spirit of God calls out to you and me, to all believers alike!

Truly, Dianne