Confidence in le Spirit!
Isaiah 6
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. 2 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. 3 And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy , holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 “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.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. ”
8 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!”
So often when we as Christians are in “not my will but yours be done” type situations we tend to panic. (Well, I can testify if no one else will, lol.) When you surge after God with the fullness is seems that when trouble comes it comes 7-fold. I’m coming out of a season where guilt and condemnation, and lack of confidence of who I am in Christ have hindered me from doing a lot…like a lot. And it’d be over stupid stuff too. I found myself getting angry at the pettiest things. Like, dumb stuff. (I got overly angry at my 1 year old cousin whose crying woke me up. SMH.) Then a random condemnation attack would happen. Bad cycle. It seems as if we get so caught up in our faults and insecurities, that we become blind sided to the truth. And we get ourselves into a process that seems to be inescapable.
A few weeks ago when I felt like bursting into flames my friend Angela called me and gave a testimony of the same experience. She gave me 1 John 3:19-22. It basically sums up how our hearts tend to condemn us, but GOD is greater than our hearts. I instantly felt better. And I mediated on those verses and learned that if my heart is condemning me, there is some work to be done on my heart. Because out of the abundance of the heart (mind) the mouth speaks (and actions come forth). It gave me confidence that God is truly able to change my heart. It’s possible!
He is able to save COMPLETELY those who come to God through Him because He (Jesus) always live to intercede for them. (Heb 7:25) I have confidence in the fact that I am now called a child of God. And as a child, though I may not deserve it, it is my right in this sonship (daughter-ship lol) to come boldly before my Father and speak whatever it is that is on my mind. We sometimes have to much confidence in the flesh. Like Paul says, if you started by means of the spirit, how can you continue by means of the flesh. Sometimes, honestly I don’t feel like praying, or feel like worshiping, fellowshiping (not a word haha), etc. But too bad. Emotions and things of the flesh add no value to our relationship with God. The same spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the SAME spirit that gives life to our mortal bodies (Rom 8), not the other way around. By NO MEANS shall we depend on the flesh as our stance with God. My flesh didn’t save me, the Spirit of God did.
But anyways, back to Isaiah. Isiah saw (had an encounter) with God by means of the spirit. And when he saw God he instantly beat himself up, saying “I am a man of unclean lips…” *raises hand*
And then the seraphim got a coal and touched his lips signifying the forgiveness of his sin. His guilt was taken away and his sin atoned for. Amen. I see this as being saved. Redeemed. Alla that. YES! And he was able to hear God’s voice pertaining to his own life. God’s voice got personal. *raises other hand*
And INSTANTLY when the Father and Son asked “whom shall I send?” Isaiah’s whole attitude changed. Knowing that his sin was forgiven, and was acceptable to the Lord, he had the confidence to do God’s will. There is something about knowing you are accepted by God through His son that makes you act differently. You feel like Rocky! When you are working with God, and letting Him work on you, you have confidence in the fact that He owns your heart and is working on it to become a better you. Isaiah, I’m sure, was older than I, and probably wasn’t living the most holy life, however, when he knew that his sin was atoned for, he was able to move on through confidence of the spirit. Like Paul says, he is forgetting what is behind and is straining toward what is ahead (Phil 3:13). Hallelujah.
My friends, though there is a lot of work to be done on our hearts, please do not get caught up in “Oh God can’t use me, woe is my sinful life!” If God has your heart, don’t worry. Think about it, every time we sin, who do we sin against? Who is it that we always run to? Like really. That’s how you know. Look at King David’s life. He ALWAYS went to God with his heart.
This is the same God who save us!! Think back to the day you gave your life to Christ. The humility that came on you. Isaiah admitted he was a sinner. What if he said “Yes, God, your holy servant who knows all things, USE ME!” We’d never say that but we act like it *raises hands higher* When you are humble there is room for God to work (Psalm 10:4). And if God could bring you to where you are today (Warning! Never say “I have arrived!”) by that 1st act of humility, think of how much more He can do!
And let patience have its perfect work…
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