"Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips... Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: "Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged." Is. 6: 5-6
Upon seeing a vision of holy holy God, Isaiah became acutely troubled. Truth had made Isaiah acutely aware of his own wretched state. ~~And just as sun melts wax and hardens concrete, truth either compels or repels its recipient. For Isaiah, Truth was compelling. Scripture is silent about what exactly happened when the burning coal touched Isaiah’s mouth, but in our summation, that must have HURT!!!!
My Shaun and I were musing about this today as we continued to discuss a painful event that happened to us recently. (Many of you think we are always the Rock of Gibraltar...but no, we too shed tears.) As we mused about Isaiah’s story, we began to see this painful occurrence in our life as a “burning coal tool” that God wants to use to purify and mold us for His purposes (rather than a tool of Satan purposed to bring us down). And although the process is heart wrenching, we are sorting out truths from lies, tossing the lies and learning from the truths. And as we avail ourselves to this cleansing process and seek God with all of our heart, the neat outcome is that God actually trusts us with more revelation of Himself and His ways.(1Cor.4: 1-2; Ps. 25:14; Jer.33:3; Heb.5:14) Pretty cool, huh?
So let’s get personal: What in your life is likened to a hot burning coal painfully touching your mouth? What pain or thorn in your life could God be trying to use to purify you? (It “feels” like it’s from the devil, but it is actually from God who’s trying to get your attention.)
Yesterday, we kicked off a 5-week marriage series at Calvary Chapel SB. One of the topics discussed is the power of our words. Make no mistake, words are powerful. They have the ability to build up and to destroy. Check out these verses:
- Prv. 18:4 A person’s words can be life-giving water; words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook.
- Prv.12:18 Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
- Prv. 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Each of us is affected by words, both positively and negatively. But it’s the negative ones that bite and tear at us. Have you ever thought that with some hurtful words, perhaps God is trying to help us by using His holy sandpaper in our life to sand off our rough edges, in hopes that He can make us more compassionate, kind, and long-suffering? (And yet some of the negative words are from the pit, meant to harm us and need to be cast out of our minds WITHOUT DELAY...no dwelling on these lies!) If you’re experiencing a ‘war of words’ or the silent treatment with a spouse, family member, friend or boss, what might God allowing for His use and ultimate good in your life?
We can learn A LOT from this kind of introspection if we humble ourselves ask God these 2 questions: What is this pain I’m feeling teaching me about You, Your will and Your ways? And what in this pain are You trying to teach me about myself and how I relate to this world?
In addition to introspection, over the years Shaun and I have found a neat way of dealing with difficult topics that we’d love to share with you. When we find ourselves becoming a bit “too passionate” regarding a certain topic, we have disciplined ourselves to:
1) recognize quickly when we are functioning in the flesh (Jms.4:1-2; Prv. 29;11; 2 Cor.13:5; Eph.4:29-32)
2) then ‘step away from the heat’ for a mutual break to collect ourselves and to seek God individually (Jms, 3:17; 1Pet.5:7-8; Prv. 15:14)
3) later, pick a time and schedule a meeting...a mutually agreed upon time where we will come prayed up and prepared to discuss the difficult topic. (Prv. 26:20)
4) at this “meeting”, come together with a focused thankful heart towards one another, vocalizing some kind of praise to one another beforewe discuss the difficult topic (Ps.100:4)
5) discuss the topic asking God to direct our words. (Ps.139: 4; Gal.5:22; Jn.16:12)
6) and if there is still an impasse, seek 3rd party counsel. (Prv. 12:15; Prv.18: 15)
So, if we experience heartache, do you think it’s possible that God is allowing it to function as His divine “hot coal of cleansing” in our lives, to purify us as His chosen vessels? We do. Let’s choose embrace this cleansing and allow Jesus His way with us this week.
Much love this week,
Shaun and Betsy
