Isaiah 6:6-7 – Renewed for greater service

 Under conviction, Isaiah saw his true self. He saw how undone he was, a man of unclean lips dwelling among people of unclean lips. Though as God’s seer, he had not aptly represented Him, yet the Sovereign One in His grace gave him such a glorious encounter of Himself. And all at once, he was brought to see his real self and he realized how undone he was. That awareness led to conviction and repentance. He became aware of how undeserving he was of such a lofty revelation of the Holy One. Isaiah’s repentance opened the door for God to work afresh in his life.

A seraph, which literally means a fiery or burning one, then took a detour from his usual flight path. Picking a burning coal from the altar of sacrifice with a tong in his hand, he flew over to Isaiah and touched the lips of the prophet. As the burning coal touched his lips, the seraph declared saying “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” The wonderful experience was that the burning coal did not burn him but rather set his life straight. His guilt was removed, and his sin was forgiven. The prophet awoke to God and what He was called to do.

The burning coal that cleansed Isaiah was a foreshadow of Calvary, the atoning work of Christ. When we have a fresh encounter with God through Christ’s atoning work, we will be cleansed. That experience will be the beginning of new strength and journey. Who can be touched by the convicting power of Calvary and remain unchanged? Being touched by Christ’s atoning work will lift us from the lowest ebb of guilt to the highest height of confidence in God.

But for people who have known the Lord for a while and whose walk with Him had become mundane and service for Him inept, we too need a fresh touch from the burning coal from God’s altar. Like Isaiah, we need a fresh encounter with the Lord. We need one more touch of the burning, purifying coal from His altar. We need to be infused with the strength that He alone can supply. Beloved, we are in constant need of a fresh glimpse of God, a new touch from His Spirit. Yes, we need a constant renewal of spiritual vitality, one that will liberate us from our inept service. We must make it our business to offer only red hot service to the One who deserves only our very best!