God Knows...Still God Calls

Then I said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I live among a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’” Isaiah 6:5-9

The days in which Isaiah lived were filled with sinful peril. Israel worshiped many gods and adhered to all kinds of evil. When sin surrounds you, you rarely notice its silent gathering. Such was the case with the prophet Isaiah.

It is true; he should have known better than to overlook Israel’s compromise. He knew the value of holiness. Yet sin in its quiet deception had stolen a place in his heart. The day he stood in the presence of God with heralds of Seraphim hovering above him with his day of reckoning. God was looking for one man, one voice to carry His truth to the people. Who would go for Him? Who would answer His call? The startling presence of the holiness brought the prophet to his knees. As he cried out at the reality of his sin, the Seraphim rushed to cleanse his lips with coals taken from the altar of God.

Has God called you to a certain task but the memory of past failure holds you back? Take heart; He is near. Get on your face before Him. Tell Him the ways you have failed, and He will cleanse you. One of the most wondrous attributes of our heavenly Father is His mercy in forgiveness. Will you, like Isaiah, answer His call?

“...‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us’...?” Isaiah 6:8