Woe To Me!

WOE TO ME! I CRIED. "I AM RUINED! FOR I AM A MAN OF UNCLEAN LIPS, AND I LIVE AMONG A PEOPLE OF UNCLEAN LIPS, AND MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE KING, THE LORD ALMIGHTY." Isaiah 6.5.

Have you ever been to St. Peter’s Cathedral in Vatican City, Italy or St. John’s Cathedral in New York or Westminster Abbey in London? If you have, then you will know the awe that overwhelms the worshipers and even the visitors to these sanctuaries built for God! The sheer majesty, beauty and stateliness of these edifices of worship makes one feel and even fear the very presence of the Almighty God! When you are in these ornate sanctuaries, you are at once overcome by the ‘awareness’ of the Holy Presence of God, like Isaiah that day in the beautiful temple King Solomon built for the God of Israel. It is as if you are ushered into the very Presence of the Almighty God!

Don’t misunderstand me! The mighty God is present even in the humblest place of worship that we make for Him! But, you must admit that in an ordinary shop converted to a place of worship on a Sunday, one has to use quite a bit of imagination to get the same kind of appreciation and awareness of the presence of God, and to evoke a similar kind of awesomeness and fear! But blessed are those who desire and achieve it!

Now imagine the young prophet Isaiah going into that beautiful and awesome temple of God, maybe on a Sabbath day! In addition to all the usual worship and sacrifices, that day, he had ‘a vision of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!’ He describes it for us, “I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs… calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke” (vs 1-4).

O! How I desire and pray that you and I too may have such ‘heavenly visions’ each Sunday in our churches, as we gather in the Presence of the Living Lord God Almighty and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, in Spirit and truth! Then, what happened that day to Isaiah will happen to you and I too!

Each new Sunday, you will see God as He really is – exalted and glorified and worthy of your whole-hearted worship! You will see yourself too as you really are – sinful and unclean and unworthy to be before His throne! You too will cry out like Isaiah, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Each Lord’s Day, God will do a fresh cleansing and you will be clean. Isaiah said, “The LORD says, "Now, let's settle the matter. You are stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow. Although your stains are deep red, you will be as white as wool” (Isaiah 1.18. GNB). You will also hear God making a fresh call on your life and giving you a fresh mandate for the ensuing week! You will say like Isaiah, "Here am I. Send me!"

Pray and practise with me: Dear LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, each Sunday, help me to be conscious of Your awesome and holy presence as I enter my place of worship. Help me also to see myself as I am! Cleanse me afresh. Let me hear You and respond like Isaiah, ready to do Your will. Amen.