A Change of Focus One reason Ive been unaware, at times, that I was seeing Jesus was because the moment wasnt what I thought it would be. I thought that seeing Him would send me into a kind of spiritual orbit. I thought it would result in a glorious, exhilarating, out-of-body ecstatic experience. Yet, within seconds, the thrill of a fresh encounter with Jesus morphed from the heights of joy to the depths of depression. The depression, then, seemed to call into question the validity of the encounter. How could meeting Jesus make me feel so miserable and helpless? The prophet Isaiahs testimony, recorded in Isaiah 6, taught me that having an encounter with Jesus isnt necessarily an occasion of ecstasy. In the year before Isaiah saw the Lord, hed passionately preached a message to the people in his changing world, exhorting them to repent, saying: Woe to you….Woe to you….Woe to you! (See Is. 5:1-30.) Isaiah was preaching his heart out and pointing his finger at the sin he saw in his collapsing culture. He was preaching Gods truth! Often when I watch the evening news or read the morning paper, I also have an overwhelming desire to point my finger and thunder, Woe to you, woe to you, woe to you! My focus is entirely on their sin! Before he saw the Lord, Isaiah was totally focused on their sin too. But upon seeing the Lord, his eyes were opened — not only to a fresh vision of the Lord—but also to a fresh vision of himself. Then Isaiah wailed, Woe to me! (See Is. 6:1-5.) He wasnt ecstatic. He wasnt transported to heights of glory. He wasnt uplifted to an exalted spiritual plateau. He was plunged into a state of spiritual helplessness and depression. When Isaiah saw the Lord, he felt dirty, sinful, wretched, guilty, worthless and ashamed. Flooded by the light of holiness and purity that emanates from the Lord, he had nowhere to hide and no one to blame. It was then that Isaiah knew he wasnt a victim; he was a sinner. The Ugly Truth Think back over your life. When have you felt the acute weight and unshakable burden of your sin? When have you felt so spiritually poor and blind and naked and utterly helpless that you even despaired of life?
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 15:48:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015