The Call – Part II
Friday, March 19
The Call – Part II
“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” Isaiah 6:5
Yesterday we revisited the story written in Isaiah 5 and discovered that Isaiah did not feel fit for service. For this calling he needed to be a clean vessel, so the seraph took a live coal from the altar and touched his lips with it, saying, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:7). But as we are moving into the holiest time of the Christian walk, we understand that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our atonement and cleansing comes, not from a hot coal from the altar, but from His blood shed for us. There is the general cleansing from sin that we receive when we first believe, and then the ongoing washing, sanctification, we can experience as and when we need it.
Sanctification, the process of being free from sin that often weighs us down. In particular, I believe that God wants to purify any gifting we have received from Him, so that it can be sanctified for His use. For instance, people with the gift of oration who want to be involved in ministry worship may need to ask the Lord to cleanse and sanctify, as Isaiah did, the lips which will speak as they offer it for His holy use, and so on.
What about us? Is there a particular area of service or ministry that God is calling you into? If so, does there need to be a cleansing and sanctifying of your particular gifting to purify it for the King’s service?
For Isaiah, who was set apart to be a prophet for the Lord, it was his lips that needed touching and cleansing. The best part is that Isaiah understood his shortcomings and brought it before God. This was preparation for him, so that when the Lord said, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”, he was able to respond: “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).
Prayer for today: Lord, thank You for the calling that You have on my life, and the gifting to fulfil that call. I want to respond to Your call, like Isaiah, and say: “Here I am, send me!” But I must first seek your cleansing. As You send me, I ask that You would cleanse me from any defilement that would hamper that call, especially from any past worldly or wrong use of my gifting. I want to be a pure and holy vessel for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.