I remember one time several years ago I got up on one Sunday morning and I read a devotional as I always do after I wake up in the morning. The devotional was based on Isaiah 6:1-8. It was talking about experiencing God's presence. It said God shows up in a powerful and lovely way at times when we least expect Him to show up. His Holy Spirit embraces us in a way that is life changing and the feeling we get when we do experience this movement of the Spirit makes us not want to see it end.
After reading that devotional I went to Church like I usually do on Sunday. I was sitting in the pew near the front of the Church. There was something special in the air that Sunday morning. I couldn't really tell what was going on at first, but I felt really at ease and I felt warm embrace. My mind was clear of worry. Tears of joy flowed from my eyes. There was a peace in my heart and my mind like I never felt before. I never wanted to leave that experience. I remember thinking, "Wow, If this is just a taste of what Heaven will be like it will be really great." Heaven will indeed be great. We will get to be with Jesus and with all of our loved ones who have trusted Him for salvation. We will be in His loving presence forever.
Sometimes He allows us to sense His presence to encourage us and to help us to keep going on. We all know that the road we are on can be a rough one indeed. There are many pot holes in life (I live in Maine, I know all about pot holes). Life can get tough and it can get ugly really fast. The Lord wants us to know that He is truly with us and we know that He is for He tells us over and over again in His Holy Word that He is always with us even until the very end of the age.
I would like to experience more of those times of closeness with the Lord, but I think the Lord only allows us to experience His presence only in short burst so that we will continue to hunger and long for Him. He is not being cruel or mean or anything life that. Remember we walk by faith and not by sight or feelings or experiences. We walk in the truth of who Jesus Christ is as the Scriptures teach us.
So, what should our response be to the Lord our God when we do sense His presence and His call on our lives? He does call each of us who believe and trust in Him to do something. We are not all called to do that same things. We all have certain talents and skills He has blessed us with to bring glory, honor, and praise to our Lord Jesus Christ.
We can find the answer to the above question in Isaiah 6:1-8 which says,
"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Isaiah had a up close and personal encounter with the living God. He was ushered into the Lord's presence and when we encounter the Lord we realize our unworthiness to be there. That is because we are unworthy of the Lord's love and His mercy, but He extends to us grace. We must realize, if we haven't done so already, that we are sinners and we need a Savior. The good news is God has given us a way to come into His presence without fear. He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to shed His blood on the cross for our sins and whoever trust in the finished work of Christ will be saved.
When we know that the Lord saved us from eternal separation and He forgives us for all of our sin we can enter into His presence without guilt and without fear of punishment for it is through Christ that you and I have been bought.
So, back to my question that I proposed earlier. What should our response be to the Lord?
Our response needs to be and must be the same response that Isaiah the prophet said to the Lord as He stood in His presence.
"Here am I. Send me."
These are two small sentences, but they say so very much.
They tell us of our willingness to serve our Lord.
They tell of how strong our faith truly is.
I can't answer the question for you, but as for me I am willing to say to the Lord Jesus Christ,
"Here I am Lord. Send me!"
Lord,
We thank You for Your love and Your presence in our lives.
Draw us nearer to You.
In Jesus name,
Amen.
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