Meet Isaiah. Now, Isaiah is considered a "major prophet" in Judaism. His job as prophet was to speak to the people what God told him to say. His primary tool was his mouth. His boss was God. So, Isaiah, get to work. And for 5 chapters of the book of his name he did. In the 6th, however, we read about an interesting encounter.
In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. (Isa 6:1)Kind of like being called to the boss's office for a review, right? Well, Isaiah waited to see if he was doing okay or needed improvement. Instead, he simply encountered God. Angels were bellowing and smoke was billowing and He heard, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory" (Isa 6:3). Now, you have to understand. This wasn't just show. That thrice repetition of "holy" had meaning. To the Hebrew mind, those angels were saying He was holy, holier, holiest. They were speaking, in today's rendition, with underlines and bold print and all caps. They were saying that, of all ethat exists, God was absolute holiness. Notice Isaiah's response. "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts" (Isa 6:5). They tell me that Isaiah was unraveling. He was undone. That "woe" and "ruined" language said he thought it was over. That "woe" isn't "oh, my!" but a sense of the curse. Why? Because in the presence of the absolute holiness of God ... he was a "man of unclean lips" and living among a "people of unclean lips." Isaiah, you see, had been comparing his job performance with those around him and, doggone it, he was doing pretty good ... right up until he saw what the real standard was -- God. Isaiah had delusions of adequacy and suddenly Isaiah, the major prophet, found his primary tool, his lips, unacceptable and dirty. He was finished. God's response was interesting. He didn't say, "You're right, you worm!" Nor did He say, "Ah, Isaiah, don't be so hard on yourself." Instead, He sent an angel to deal with the problem (Isas 6:6-7). "Yes, you're right. Let's take care of this now. You'll feel some pain for a moment ..."
Isaiah is an example of the sinning saint. He was doing God's work, albeit somewhat tainted by sin ("unclean lips"). God agreed. So He dealt with it. And so it is with us. God sent His Son to die on our behalf so that we could be the righteousness of Christ (2 Cor 5:21) -- holy. Notice the rest of the story. Recognizing the problem that Isaiah was God's sinful mouthpiece and dealing with it, God next says, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" (Isa 6:8). And Isaiah, with burnt lips, answered, "Here am I; send me." You see, the sequence, then. Isaiah correctly identified his own sin problem by comparing himself to the Holy God rather than sinful people around him. God dealt with that sin. And that left Isaiah prepared to be used by God. What Isaiah thought of as "the end" became the launching point for him to be useful to God. And so it is with us. We come with faith given to us (Rom 12:3; Php 1:29) and exercise it in Christ. He deals with our sin, indwells this clay pot with His power (2 Cor 4:7; Php 2:13), and puts us to use, broken as we are. Our sin doesn't prevent our usefulness. God's provision for it enables our usefulness. Again and again, over and over. So we do our part -- confess and repent -- and He does His part -- remedy and empower -- and we become useful tools in God's toolbelt. It doesn't get much better than that. From sinning saint to useful to God.
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