The Hall of Fame prophet Isaiah knew what it meant to have bare feet and burned lips. He recorded a confrontation with the Lord’s angels in best seller, chapter 6. “Then I said, “Woe is me for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away your sin is forgiven.” Isaiah 6:5-7.
So I’m thinking “Wow!, if this great man of God was having some issues with personal holiness, then maybe I’m not so bad after all.” Of course this is flawed thinking because all of us have holiness issues, right? Just about the time I think I’m on the right track, I find myself face down with a mouthful of mud and grit. So how do we do this holiness thing? When the scriptures tell us to “be holy as God is holy,” who do we see about that?
Here are a few things to ponder.
Realize what is making you unclean. God sent his angel to put the burning coal on Isaiah’s lips. Obviously the prophet had a problem with his tongue. Maybe he would curse, speak untruths, or would use perverse speech. Maybe Isaiah had an anger problem and he would lash out at the people around him. You know where you need cleansing, so today, ask the Lord to bring on the coals!
God initiates the cleansing. Isaiah wasn’t looking for God when he had the vision of the Lord seating high on his throne. This was God letting Isaiah get a little glimpse of heaven! It was God who knew Isaiah needed cleansing to prepare him for the work ahead. Only God is holy and only through Him can we find cleansing.
We are cleansed for a mission. Isaiah had a big job ahead of him. In verses 8-12 of chapter 6 he gets his marching orders and realizes that without the cleansing of the Lord, then he would be ill-equipped for the mission.
You only get clean when you get real close to God. Isaiah’s personal space was invaded by an angel carrying a hot coal! God will draw you to himself even if He has to take extreme measures to get you there!
Many thanks to Jon Walker and his 2007 devotional on this subject.
Be encouraged today friends!
Be Encouraged Today 
Posted by katonna loibl on September 6, 2011 at 8:40 pm
Randy I love your passage here. What an example. We are to never question god even during times when it is hard to honor his wishes. he knows what we need.