Sometimes it takes something unexpected to wake us up. We can make plans for how we think life is going to go, only to have something happen that reminds us just how little control we really have. Maybe it is a difficult season at work, a health concern, a broken relationship, or simply one thing after another that doesn't go according to plan.
When life seems to hit rock bottom, we realize something important: we don't have it all together, and we never really were in control. But sometimes that realization can actually be a gift. When the things we normally lean on are stripped away, we begin to see what matters most. We begin to see just how much we need God.
That is where we find Isaiah in Isaiah 6. Isaiah has a vision of God sitting on His throne. The heavenly beings around Him cry out, “Holy, holy, holy.” The temple shakes, smoke fills the room, and Isaiah is confronted with the holiness of God.
And his response is not, “Look at how good I've been.” Instead, Isaiah says, “Woe is me!” Isaiah sees God clearly, and he also sees himself clearly. God's holiness becomes like a mirror. It exposes Isaiah's own brokenness and rebellion.
There is something uncomfortable about being completely seen.
We spend a lot of time trying to manage our image. We want other people to think we've got things together. We hide the things we're embarrassed about. We explain away our failures. We try to make ourselves look better than we really are. But God already knows. He sees us completely. He knows the things we've done behind closed doors. He knows the thoughts we don't want anyone else to know. And when we truly encounter His holiness, we realize we cannot simply defend ourselves or clean ourselves up enough to stand before Him.
But here is the beautiful part of Isaiah's story: God doesn't leave him in his ruin. A seraph takes a burning coal from the altar and touches Isaiah's lips. The very place Isaiah had identified as unclean is the place God cleanses. Then comes the declaration: his guilt is taken away, and his sin is atoned for. Isaiah didn't earn that cleansing. He didn't clean himself up first. He didn't complete a list of good works so that God would finally accept him. He was made clean because of what God did for him.
And that is where Isaiah's story points us directly to Jesus. We don't come to God because we have everything figured out. We don't have to pretend we're okay. We don't have to clean ourselves up before approaching Him. We can come as we are.
Jesus came to us. Throughout His ministry, He touched the sick and made them well. He touched the blind and gave them sight. He came near to people who were broken, hurting and far from God.
And ultimately, Jesus gave Himself as the sacrifice for our sin.
The cleansing Isaiah experienced at the altar points us toward what Jesus would accomplish for us on the cross. God's invitation isn't, “Get yourself cleaned up and then come to Me.” It is, “Come to Me.” Come with your failures. Come with your questions. Come with your brokenness. Come with the things you're ashamed of. Come honestly, without hiding or defending yourself, and allow God to do what only He can do.
And Isaiah's story doesn't end with being made clean. Once Isaiah was cleansed, God asked, “Whom shall I send?” Isaiah's response was simple: “Here I am. Send me.”
That is the picture of following Jesus. Come to Jesus. Be changed by Jesus. Then go live on mission for Jesus. You don't have to have the perfect résumé. You don't need all the answers. You don't have to have everything together. You simply need to come.
Come as you are. Let Jesus make you clean. And then, like Isaiah, be willing to say,
“Here I am. Send me.”
Word in Faith is a collaboration of Wayne Association of Congregations and Ministers (WACAM), an organization partially funded by the Wayne Community Chest.
