By Alicia Krogsgaard
Close your eyes. What vision of God does your mind portray? Do you see an old man, white hair and beard, somewhat clueless, stooping over the world, looking down? Do you see a stark white spirit holding a lightning rod, ready to throw it at those of us who are messing up? Do you see a frumpy old Santa figure listening to all your wants as you sit on his knee? Do you see the kind face of your earthly father? Or perhaps a stern, you-better-straighten-up face stares at you? When you envision God, what do you see?
Our vision of God determines our response to God. The accurate, biblical perspective of God lends itself to see everything else in the correct perspective. Life just works better when we learn how to glance at the world around us, but fix our gaze on our Creator.
When we become consumed with the world around us—worries, pleasures, treasures of things seen- it is a sign that we need a new vision of our God. Isaiah, in the depths of despair over the death of King Uzziah, was ushered into God’s throne room so that a fresh, majestic view of God would fill him with vision and hope for himself and for God’s people.
In the presence of God, Isaiah sees light. He is impressed with God’s completeness that leaves no room for anyone or anything else. God’s robe fills the temple; God is sufficient enough to meet all of Isaiah’s needs and calm all of his fears and worries. He sees the highest order of angels, the seraphs, worshipping God. Two wings cover their eyes to show that God’s majesty is too great to be beheld by any other creature. Two wings cover their feet to show their humility of doing God’s work, not wanting the focus to be on their work, rather on the majesty of God. Their third set of wings is hard at work flitting here and there in service to their Creator. It is the flutter of urgency and passion. They want all creation to see and to know the majesty of the One they worship and serve. If THAT wasn’t enough to get Isaiah’s attention, the very foundation of the temple begins to shake with the chorus of voices calling to each other, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the Lord Almighty!”
What an amazing picture of worship! God’s presence is sufficient. There is no room for anything of this world. His majesty is on display. What more could Isaiah want? What worries could possibly diminish God’s all- sufficiency? What earthly thing could outshine what Isaiah sees in his vision? His perspective is refocused. His gaze is on his Creator, not on his despair and fear.
When you close your eyes, what vision of God do you see? When the world seems to be closing in on you, what do you see? When your heart aches for your child’s decisions, what do you see? When evil seems to have the upper hand, what do you see? When Satan seems to be winning, what do you see?
God is high and lifted up on His throne, yet He is accessible to us. He waves us into His throne room. He longs to share Himself with us. He invites us to join the seraphs in worship. He wishes to calm our spirits, be the healing balm on our souls, and to give us such a powerful vision of Him that we face this temporal life with His strength and power. Sounds like a great place to be…I’ll meet you in the throne room, dear sister!