I hope I will be able to articulate what I am thinking and feeling right now. Do you ever have a time when God presses something home to you? Is it not a sweet experience with the Lord when you feel him revealing a truth to you in a new way?  I had that sort of experience tonight or I should say I am having that kind of experience right now.  How can I even briefly summarize?

I just came from our parent/youth meeting. My husband spoke on the topic of God's holiness using Isaiah 6:1-6.  These verses are very familiar to me, in fact we had to memorize them in Bible school. But tonight I saw them through the eyes of Isaiah. Isaiah had a tough life, and he was mourning the loss of a friend, his king. When he enters the temple he saw a glimpse of THE KING and what he saw was a picture of God's holiness.  His response was, "woe is me for I am undone I am a man of unclean lips." God's response was to use a coal to cauterize Isaiah's lips, removing the sin. It says his sin was atoned for. Why? Because of Jesus. God's plan was already in motion even before Jesus came to earth. God was pointing Isaiah to the cross hundreds of years before it happened just like he points me to the cross hundreds of years after it happened. 

Shortly after the talk I was talking to someone whose wife has been undergoing chemo treatments for breast cancer. After we finished talking I had this thought: in light of God's holiness our suffering is nothing. Whether it's cancer, betrayal by a husband, facing financial ruin, being devastated by sin; your own or someone elses', unrepentant children, conflict, physical or mental weakness, you name it when you shine the light of God's holiness on it, that situation will not be an issue. When we truly see God's holiness all we will be able to think about is our great sinfulness, and when we see our sinfulness in light of God's holiness we will see his merciful plan to atone for our sins through Jesus. 

Isaiah was often the bearer of bad news. He was often commanded by God to say and do some pretty outrageous or unpopular things. Tradition says that he died by being sawn in two.  What in the world could have sustained him through all of this?  Why didn't he give up when things got tough? I believe it was the vision of God's holiness that sustained him.

When we get to heaven will we even spend one moment dwelling on our rough plight here on earth?  We will join in the heavenly song of Holy, Holy, Holy and there will be nothing but gratefulness and thankfulness to God for his love and mercy. There will be nothing but praise to our Savior. 

It makes me want to right now say with David in Psalm 34, " I will bless the LORD at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth."  May God grant me the ability to see this vision more and more here on earth.

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