The Bible teaches about many prophets. Men and women blessed to be used by God in awesome ways. But far from enjoying peaceful easy living, God’s prophets were often despised, persecuted, and imprisoned; the messages they brought, hated and disregarded. Even though many came to tragic, violent ends, they still stayed true to revealing God’s messages. Why? Because of divine encounters with the Lord. Encounters that transformed both their hearts and their lives.
This was the case with one the greatest prophets, Isaiah. When God was looking for someone to deliver a message to Israel He said, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (vs. 6:8) Isaiah stepped right up saying, “Here am I. Send me!” (v. 6:8) Why was Isaiah so eager to serve God? The Bible tells us that in the same year the king of Judah, Uzziah, passed away, Isaiah received a prophetic vision. “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered His face, and with two he covered His feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is filled with His glory.” (vs. 6:1-3)
Surrounded by the glorious majesty and holiness of God, Isaiah is convicted by the filthiness of his own life in comparison and cries out in despair, “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.” (vs. 6:5) In response, God sends a seraphim to place a burning coal on the lips of Isaiah allowing his iniquity to be taken away and his sin forgiven. (vs. 6:7) Transformed, cleansed, and ready for service, Isaiah humbly volunteers to carry out God’s mission.
Have you ever thought you washed a window to crystal clear perfection only to find it full of streaks when the rays of the sun shined on it? That’s how it is with us. No matter how hard we try, or how clean we think our lives are, they are nothing more than dirty, streaky windows compared to the perfect goodness of God. But because of His boundless love, just like He did for Isaiah, God provides a way for our iniquity to be taken away and our sin forgiven. That way is Jesus Christ. Through His work on the Cross and the shedding of His precious blood the minute we receive Him as our Savior, the Holy Spirit goes to work. First he humbles and convicts us about the filthiness of our lives, then begins transforming, cleansing, and getting us ready for God's service. No longer unworthy, and like the prophets before us, we can be eagerly obedient to God’s calling. And after our own life changing encounter with the Lord, with a thankful heart we too can say to God, “Here am I. send Me!”
