“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.’”(Please read vv. 5-7)
Brokenness and confession from me lead to forgiveness and restoration from God!
The angel touched Isaiah’s lips with a coal from the sacrificial altar. God gave the people of Israel the sacrificial system as a symbol of what Christ would do for them at the cross. Jesus had not yet come and so God gave them the symbol of the substitutionary death of an animal as payment for their sins. But really it was the great sacrifice of Jesus for us that would make a way for our sins to be “taken away” and “atoned for”.
After Isaiah’s heart cry of brokenness and despair over his own sin, “then” came God’s forgiveness.
God’s reminding you today that he doesn’t want you to downplay your sin and make it seem not so bad. What he responds to in your life is open confession and grief in your heart about your sin against him. And he’s also assuring you that when you see your sin the way he sees it and come to him with it, he’s so ready to restore your relationship with him to relational closeness.
Confess anything that you know is coming between you and God. Ask him to help you see your sin the way he sees it. Thank him for restoring your relationship to one of closeness!
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