Here Am I: Send Me!ਨਮੂਨਾ

Once is enough! Have you ever done something or experienced something and uttered that expression? It might have been an incredibly exciting thing that you looked forward to for days or months. It might also have been something totally unexpected that just happened to you. Whatever the circumstances, once completed, you really didn’t need or want to go through it again.

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah could understand because he also had a once in a lifetime experience. It is recorded in chapter 6 of the book which bears his name in the Bible. As far as we know, it only happened this one time. It was a unique encounter with God.

Isaiah is seeking the Lord in a time of great national upheaval. The King has died. That is the way he marks the period for the encounter. No month or day is given. What happens next is extraordinary. He SEES the Lord. When we get a glimpse of who God really is, it changes everything. Often, we want to see God how we want Him to be. We want a God that we can control, a God who will do for us what we want done. That’s not the God of the Bible, however.

No, this God is seated on a throne, high and lifted up. Yet his robe fills the temple. He’s bigger than Isaiah expected. There are Seraphim standing above him, covering their eyes and their feet with their wings in His presence. Their voices cause the foundations of the temple to shake. The temple is filled with smoke, and their voices rang out in a repetitive chorus declaring who this God is! He is the Lord of Hosts and His glory fills the whole earth, and He is the most Holy One! There is no one in heaven or on earth like this God.

There is a very real tendency to grow too familiar with the God of the Bible. We are called His children, and He longs to have us near Him. However, we would be well served to remember that we are there by His invitation. He is still the most Holy God. He is still so much larger than we know. His power is more than we can comprehend. His glory fills the entire earth and beyond it throughout all of creation.

One lone encounter with this God is enough to change the course of our life and eternity. It certainly did for Isaiah, as we will see throughout this week!