Isaiah had a vision of the Lord, and He saw the angles declaring God holy, holy, holy! It seems like someone should be ecstatic and speechless having this amazing experience! However, in the light of God’s holiness, Isaiah saw himself undone!
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
So I said:
“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.”
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.”
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:
“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”
Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” Isaiah 6:3-8
The holiness of God made Isaiah realize how sinful he was and that he could be destroyed in the presence of a holy God! Isaiah grasped how unclean his lips had been and that a holy God deserves holy lips to utter his greatness!
Isaiah was a good spiritual man who loved God, but up to this point, he may have measured his passion, his zeal, and his behavior against the people of his day and those surrounding him. But this day, it was a different day! There was no one there except the presence of the Lord and His angels! He was surrounded by the holiness of God and saw the angels declaring the holiness of God. Suddenly the standard shifted from an earthly and humanly standard to a heavenly and glorious standard!
I am reminded of the following scripture in James:
With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? James 3:9-11
Isaiah did not see himself worthy of being in the presence of the Lord and certainly he did not see himself worthy of uttering the holiness of God! He saw that he and all others had unclean lips and had used their tongue for things that did not glorify and honor God! He could not bless the Lord with his unclean lips!
Sometimes, we don’t realize how corrupt our speech has become because we compare ourselves to those around us or those we watch on TV. We may not curse people, but our speech could still be negative, cutting, and demoralizing. The words we use may bring death to the atmosphere and remove hope. Our speech may cause strife, arguments, and disorder rather than bringing peace, unity, and humility.
The scripture is clear that taming the tongue is one of the most difficult things to do. When we’re not thinking right or feeling right about a person or a situation, something is bound to come out of our mouths that does not bring glory to God nor edification to a person. Sometimes we even use our tongue against ourselves speaking out of frustration and discouragement and producing hopelessness, negativity, and rejection in our lives.
One of the angles touched Isaiah’s mouth and took away his sins. He gave him clean lips, so he can glorify God and bring His word to the people. This was a time of repentance and reset. This made Isaiah ready to be the instrument for the Lord and be His mouthpiece !
Many of us desire to bring the word of the Lord to the people, but our tongue still needs to be touched by God to be cleansed and purified from carnality, opinions, and negativity, so it can be fully dedicated to the Lord and His work! It is time for repentance and reset! Allow the Lord to burn up anything that is not of Him, so your lips can be instruments of worship as unto the Lord and a blessing of life and hope in the life of others and yourself!