Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Have you ever found yourself feeling like you're in a place where you're unworthy to worship God? I know I have. Maybe it's times where you feel stuck in sin, or maybe you're just feeling really low, or you're feeling lonely and you just think, you know what? I don't even know if I'm allowed to approach a perfect and holy God.
If it makes you feel any better, you're not alone. Not only have I felt that, but there are so many authors in the Scriptures who have actually felt this way. One such author is the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah's Vision
After the king dies, he has this vision of the throne rooms of heaven where seraphim, these angelic beings, are flying around, and we're told—in his vision—what they're doing. Read with me, Isaiah chapter 6, verse 3. The prophet says:
"They were calling out to each other, 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven's Armies! The whole earth is filled with His glory!'"
What's fascinating to me is that Isaiah isn't moved by this moment. He doesn't fall down and worship alongside them. He's actually terrified. He actually screams out that he's doomed because he's a sinful man. In short, he doesn't feel worthy to worship God, especially compared to these spiritual beings flying around the throne room.
Made Clean
What happens next is something that should comfort all of us. One of the beings flies down with a hot coal and touches it to Isaiah's lips, and he says, "You've been made clean." This is Isaiah's permission to worship God freely. See, for each and every one of us, if we belong to God, we have been made clean, and we are allowed to worship Him without shame, without fear. We get to approach Him with a boldness.
A Youth Camp Story
I get it, though. Sometimes that's hard. I remember one time I was at a youth camp, and youth camps were always such a sweet time for me, because it was a time to get away from distractions and put aside your phones and just worship God in the beauty of His creation.
There was one camp that we were planning as a church on our own, and it felt like everything was going wrong. We couldn't find a worship team for the weekend. All the teachers were dropping out. We were running out of money to be able to buy all the supplies for the games. There were arguments with the leaders. We almost couldn't get all of the students up to camp. Once we got there, it just felt like left and right, there was tension between everyone.
There was one chapel that everybody was at least trying to enter into worship, and I was standing in the back of the room feeling a heaviness in my heart because I felt like everything that had gone wrong was my fault. I was the youth pastor. I was supposed to take care of everything, and I took a step back because I was about to leave the chapel.
I remember the Lord ministering to me in that moment before I could move any further. He spoke quietly to my heart. He said, Look around. You're not in control, but I am. What He said next sticks with me to this day. He said, Don't rob Me of My glory. I felt like I couldn't worship, but God had already told me I was allowed to, and to get in the way of that was to rob God of the glory due His name.
You Are Worthy
I hope those words bring you comfort in those moments where you feel like, I'm doomed. I'm so sinful. There's no way that God wants me around. Remember who He's called you to be. You're His child, His beloved. He sent His only Son to buy you at a price. You have been made washed clean by His blood. Now it's time to worship like it.
