God knows our hearts, and He wants our thoughts, actions and words to align with our faith in Him. Each time we open our mouths, we have an opportunity to speak in a way that is glorifying to Him.
Now that we have opened with such lofty goals, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. The truth is, it’s really hard to filter everything we say through the lens of our faith. Especially in this world of fast paced communication. We often speak before we think….maybe too often.
This series is practical. Yes, we understand the goal is to always speak God’s truth, from His Word, in His ways. But we also understand that none of us is perfect on this side of glory. So don’t be intimidated, just sit in with us as we struggle together to do a little better, a little bit at a time. God will meet us all right where we are, right where we need Him.
The personal examples were so great in this session – thank you for sharing! God is so good.
I can’t help thinking about when Isaiah had a vision of Christ on His glorious throne, which so profoundly affected him that it overwhelmed him with a sense of his own sin and caused him to say, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for 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!” (Isaiah 6:5).
Sometimes I’m tempted to think that improving my speech (thoughts and attitudes too!) would just be so much easier if I could just have a supernatural vision or encounter like Isaiah’s, for the sheer motivation of it. But my personal conviction is to make prayer and studying God’s word a priority and be obedient to that, trusting that He will cause me to be edified, sanctified and transformed through it.
I love how Isaiah goes on to say in verse 6 & 7, “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” What a wonderful parallel and foreshadowing of Christ’s atonement and perhaps even the process of sanctification. Matthew Henry’s commentary states, “the live coal may denote the assurance given to the prophet, of pardon, and acceptance in his work, through the atonement of Christ.”
Isaiah is so thoroughly changed by this encounter that he is “Commissioned by the Lord” (vs 8): “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” Isn’t that encouraging? Our recognition of our own wretchedness in light of God’s holiness is so humbling and transforming when we realize his gift of atonement and Grace, that it does motivate us! Praise Jesus.