Have you ever met someone you admired or looked up to from afar?
Perhaps it was a musician, author, athlete, or celebrity. Their work inspired you. Their story encouraged you. Their words changed your life.
When you saw them or met them, were you nervous? Did your heart start racing? Did you struggle to find the words to say? Did you feel insecure or maybe even unworthy?
When I was a teenager, I became a huge fan of the band MercyMe. Their songs ministered to me and moved my faith. As a college student, I had the opportunity to volunteer at a music festival my school hosted. I served backstage as a stagehand, moving equipment on and off stage along with assisting the artists.
I looked over at one point and saw Bart, the lead singer of MercyMe. He was holding his baby boy. I went over and began to chat with him and he was very gracious. I pulled out my camera (with film I might add). Someone took a picture of us. When I got the film developed, I was excited to have that keepsake of our moment together.
As I look back at that time thinking of my nerves and feelings of awe at meeting someone I looked up to so much, I wonder at the gap I saw between me and Bart. I was a young man and he was a grown man. Sure, he could sing notes (and stay on pitch) in a way that I couldn't. But, I was no less worthy than he was.
Thinking of that picture and my feelings that day reminds me of a passage of Scripture. This passage describes how one man felt when he came into the presence of the king. He didn't meet the king of a country - he came into the presence of the King of Kings.
In Isaiah 6, we read these words:
"It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 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!'
Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. Then I said, 'It's all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven's Armies.'"
This month's Worship Now theme is The King. This passage from Isaiah 6 describes how unworthy Isaiah felt when he saw The King. When he entered the presence of God, his heart raced. He got nervous. But he didn't reach for a camera and ask for a selfie like I did. Instead, Isaiah was overwhelmed with feelings of unworthiness and doom.
When Isaiah met the King, he realized his sinfulness, his filthy lips, and his part in a community of unworthy people with filthy lips.
When we end up in the King's presence, we won't look to capture the moment to post later on Instagram. We will fall on our face trembling because God is far beyond us. He is pure while we are impure. He is righteous while we are not. The image Isaiah presents here gives us just a taste of how overwhelming God truly is.
I often feel unworthy of the way God sees and acts toward me. I read Romans 8, which says, "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love." I feel unworthy of that kind of love.
I read Romans 5, which says, "God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners." I feel unworthy of that kind of sacrifice.
In Isaiah 6, Isaiah felt unworthy of being given this vision of God's throne room. Something amazing happens, though, after he expresses his unworthiness. "Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, 'See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.'"
When it seems like he couldn't be any more overwhelmed, the angel moves towards Isaiah to touch him, cleanse him, remove his guilt, and forgive his sins. The same process begins when Jesus is born at Christmas. He comes near to humanity, He touches people like us. The baby born in a manger grows up to become a man who lives a sinless, perfect life. He gives His life as a sacrifice on the cross.
When we put our faith in His death and resurrection, He removes our guilt and forgives our sins. He hears us cry, "I am unworthy," and He declares, "You are worthy."
Bridge Worship sings about the greatness of who God is and what our King has done for us in his song, "That's My King."
This year, we will be tempted to give people the power only God has.
When someone makes you feel (or does not make you feel) a certain way…
What someone does (or does not) give you something you were looking for…
When some person shows up (or doesn't show up) to be with you during this season…
You will not become worthy or unworthy because of what they did or did not do.
God is the only one who can declare us "worthy!" God's unchanging character, His overwhelming power, and His unconditional love transforms us from unworthy to worthy. May you marvel at this truth today!
