In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Isaiah 6: 1
Has life ever thrown you a curve ball? If you are reading this, I bet you have experienced a down time at some stage of your life. Desperate times in our lives come in all shapes and sizes: betrayal, rejection, divorce, illness, death, loss of employment, foreclosure, financial hardship, national upheaval and so on. When the down times appear, what do you see?
In Isaiah 6: 1, King Uzziah has died. King Uzziah had ruled the Southern Kingdom for 52 great years. During his reign he led Judah to power, wealth and success. But in 2 Chronicles 26, Uzziah disobeys God, by offering incense in the temple. God strikes him with leprosy, and he dies. After Uzziah’s death, Judah slides into a down time. While others in the nation become anxious and uncertain about their future in the down time, Isaiah sees the Lord in all his might and glory, with the “train of his robe filling the temple (Isaiah 6:1).”
In pursuing intimacy with God in the down time, Isaiah discovered that “all things work together for good for those who love him (God), who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). Isaiah found out that God is holy, and steadfast in honoring his promise to never leave or forsake his people (Heb 13:5). Most of us, (myself included) know these truths and can quote these scriptures in the up times, but if we are completely honest, what do we see in the down times?
It is in the down times, that God builds and shapes our faith. It is in the down times, that God confirms his holiness and his glorious presence in our lives. So, what do you see when dreams die, when the storm rages, when the future is uncertain, when the earth trembles and gives way beneath your feet, and when the mountains you cherish fall into the heart of the sea? Do you see what Isaiah saw? Do you see Him? Isaiah did; Job did; the widow of Zarephath and many others did. What about you; what do you see?
Dear God, I want to see you in every area of my life. I want to see you in the up times and in the down times. Draw me close Holy Spirit, fill me with humility and block out every distraction, so I might only see, and hear you as you work out your divine purposes in my life. Welcome into the condition of my family, my community and my nation; do your work for your glory. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.