Isaiah: Striving Less and Trusting God Sample

Holy and Higher

As we dig into Isaiah 6 today, we find a progression of belief, which leads to a sense of belonging, which then results in transformed behavior.

Read Isaiah 6:1-4.

The ultimate authority of heaven and earth sits on His throne wearing a robe that fills the temple. He is attended by angels called seraphim who call out to each other, “Holy, holy, holy” (v. 3). Their words shake the room and smoke fills the entire temple.

I think I would have been overcome with the holiness or “otherness” of it all. While God forgives and loves us as sinners, desiring a relationship with us like we saw yesterday, we should not be tempted to bring Him down to our human level. These verses remind us that He is holy. The Hebrew for holy is qadowsh, which means “sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set apart.”3 He is not like us. He is perfect in all He does. He rules supremely and receives the worship of an array of heavenly beings.

Once we see the Lord, we can then gain clarity about our own position in relation to Him.

Read Isaiah 6:5-13.

In response to God’s holiness, Isaiah recognized his own sinfulness. He didn’t try to hide or pretend; instead, he confessed his predicament.

Confession as a spiritual practice should lead us toward God rather than away from Him. I love that the Lord didn’t shame Isaiah in his brokenness, but instead God removed his guilt. The imagery of the burning coal taken from the altar reminds us that the Lord longs to cleanse us as well. Jesus offered His life as payment for our sins. His altar was a cross where He removed our guilt and forgave our sins through His shed blood.

As Isaiah’s calling reveals, God’s instructions aren’t always what we’re expecting. The moments when life doesn’t go as we think it should provide the clearest opportunities to exercise trust in our relationship with Him. Oftentimes the only next step we can take is one of acknowledging to God, “Here I am.”

Read Isaiah 55:8-9

The God of Isaiah is the same God who invites you to be close to Him. He knows you don’t always follow all His instructions, and thankfully, you don’t have to earn your way into His family. If you have believed in Him by faith, then you belong to Him.