Devotion – Monday May 11 – God’s Glory Manifested Highlights our Weak and Fallen Nature

We see evidence of God’s Glory in many ways through His creation – a beauty or a New Mexico sunset, the majesty of the Sandia's, the wonder of the color palate and intricacies of daffodils and lilies in spring bloom.  These evidences align with what the bible states - “the heavens declare the glory of God”, but the evidences are not truly the Glory of God.  There are times in the Bible when God’s Glory is manifested in active, fearsome, and very present ways.  We will look at three of those occasions this week and the response of those who experienced the manifestation.  You will want to use your imagination and put yourself in the place of these occurrences.  So, read through the text once, then go back and read again, imagining yourself right there in the midst of the presence of the very God of the universe.

The text we will look at today is Isaiah 6:1-6.  Read the text, then please read it a second time, but this time placing yourself in that scene.

Initial Questions:

• What did you experience as read the text the second time? 
• Could you imagine the Lord on a throne?
• Were you struck by the description of the seraphim creatures?
• Could you imagine the chorus of voices singing “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts”?
• Could you feel the “foundations of the thresholds” shake at His voice?
• What was Isaiah’s response to the Glory of God?
• Did you have the same response as you imagined the experience?

The Glory of God is awe inspiring and humbling.  That is what Isaiah experienced.  That realization brought him to see his absolute weak and fallen nature, for he says “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips”.  Isaiah also saw that those around him were in the same state as he says “I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips”.

Final Question:

As you consider the Glory of God is your response like Isaiah’s – “I have seen the King, the Lord of hosts”.  Does your response lead you to realize that we don’t deserve to be in God’s presence for our sin and our state is hopeless unless the King changes our condition?