Daily Scripture
“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!””
Isaiah 6:1-8 NIV
Daily Devotional
Much like our devotional yesterday, today's deals with the surrendered heart of Isaiah to God's direction, and his humility to the magnificence of the Almighty. This whole scene described is full of humility and awe of the Almighty.
The beginning says that the train of the Lord's robe filled the whole temple! Wow. Historically, the longer the train of your robe was, the more important a king you were. God's train was grand in size, unlike any king to ever rule.
Above the Lord were seraphim angels, each with six wings, all glorifying God at such a shaking volume that the doorposts and thresholds of the temple shook and the room was filled with smoke!
Isaiah's response to this vision was the only reasonable response to seeing the creator of the universe in his throne: "Woe is me!" Isaiah was so aware of God's presence at this moment that he could find nothing good in himself or in anyone around him in comparison to the greatness of God. God's perfect holiness was so dramatically greater than the most perfect person.
Immediately following Isaiah's witness of Perfection, an angel flew to Isaiah and atoned for his sins with a coal taken from the altar.
Then, the magnificent, earth shattering, incredible voice of the Lord asked.... who shall I send? Who will go? And Isaiah's freshly cleaned, atoned, humbled heart responded accordingly: "Send me."
Daily Challenge
Have you been cleaned but not humbled? Are you in God's presence but not in awe? It's my belief that one cannot come without the other. To stand in the presence of God is to die completely. We cannot live in God's presence, rather, he can live through us if we allow him. Today, recall the glory, holiness, and perfection of God. Meditate on how high his ways are, and how dark and unsalvageable we are without his intensely high and mighty grace in our lives. Consider reading through Job 38-41 to see the Lord's response to the story of Job, and how the Lord confidently speaks of himself. He is worthy.
