With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (Isa. 6:7)
Guilt is a terrible feeling. An older, wiser woman once told me that she lived her life by one simple rule: Insomuch as it is within your control, strive to go to bed each night with no regrets. She was not talking about “YOLO”—you only live once—mentality, so “just do it.” Rather, she was referencing the sinking feeling of guilt that we experience at the end of a long day when sin has gotten the best of us in one way or another. The problem is, however, that even with this goal, we cannot be righteous before God on our own.
In the same way, Isaiah felt a sinking feeling before God. It was not that he was guilty of a particular sin, but contrasted with God’s perfect holiness, he immediately recognized himself as “unclean” and unworthy. But in the vision, God made a way for Isaiah to stand before him guiltless. How much more humbled must we be? How much more do we need God’s restoration?
Isaiah understood his profound unworthiness even to look upon God, and his mouth had betrayed his humanity. We too, are necessarily humbled. But the live coal that purified Isaiah, the burning fire which made him clean, is available to us through Christ. Before we can serve God well, we must recognize God’s glory, our nothingness, and his refining fire.
Leave behind guilt and regret so that you can serve God well.
Dalene (Rovenstine) Fisher is a wife, mother, and grandma. She serves as assistant provost and dean of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
© 2020 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
