“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
Yep, today’s reading totally hit home with me. I am just being real with you. Let’s pretend we are sitting at a coffee shop somewhere pouring out our souls as we listen to soft jazz music in the background. OK, so enough of that thought and back to reality. We are an extremely self-absorbed people. Hello, we are human! But that does not give us the right to have a “me, me, me” mindset. Oh, and did I mention ME?!! David Nasser shares that self-absorption leads to two extremities: cockiness and shame.
It is so easy to get wrapped up in “how is my personal growth coming?” or “my development spiritually” that we lose focus on who our relationship is with–the God of the entire universe! I know that this is a huge struggle for me. I am your typical Franklin Covey day planner kinda girl who enjoys checking off her to-do list and just getting the job done. I like results, so many times in my relationship with Jesus I have caught myself simply wanting to see the fruit of my growth instead of focusing on Him. Once I take my eyes off of me, then God can truly use me to impact the world.
God revealed Himself to the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah immediately cried, “Woe is me!” He realized that compared to God he was ruined! He was a sinner. I think I am in that same boat. I am definitely a sinner….I make mistakes every single day, but you know what, God cleanses me when I truly repent before His throne. Isaiah repented of his sins and Jesus forgave him. God will do the same thing for us too.
Let Jesus do some serious “spiritual surgery” on your heart today. Yesterday we allowed Jesus to come in with tough words and the next step is accepting those words and taking action. Will you repent of your sins and allow Jesus to take control? Once you decide to take action and receive forgiveness from God, you can attain an unquenchable thirst for God. Psalm 63:1 says, “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. ” Thirst for Jesus today.
If you haven’t experienced this tough words and ruined thing yet, don’t try to manufacture it. Trying to dig up sin on your life can become an obsession and take the focus back on you! Our job is to prepare our hearts for the moment that God reveals some tough stuff to us and be ready and willing to make major adjustments in our lives. Jesus takes care of the rest!
Let your life be driven by conviction, not convenience.
-David Nasser
