By Jake Thurston
Have you ever felt like you weren’t good enough to do a task set before you?
In 2017, a group of friends and I decided we were going to run a Tough Mudder obstacle course. This was a 5-mile course that included 13 obstacles. On paper, it sounded like a blast. But in reality, I was completely dreading it. Why?
Because I wasn’t “qualified” for it. Or at least by my standards.
For one, I had never done anything like this in my life. The closest form of athleticism I ever did was marching in the drumline during my high school years. That’s it. Climbing up obstacles, using upper body strength, and running over 5-miles seemed completely impossible. When we first posed the idea, I looked at my condition, and thought “Nuh uh. No way. How could I possibly do this?”
When faced with an overwhelming goal, it’s easy to feel unqualified. And that’s exactly how the prophet Isaiah felt when he received his call to ministry from God.
Isaiah’s story begins in Isaiah 6:1-4:
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
Isaiah’s calling starts off by receiving this vision of the Lord in all his splendor, glory, and holiness. God was seated on a throne, which symbolizes the power of his sovereignty as a king. In verse 2, we see that above God were these creatures called seraphim. The Hebrew word serapim means “flames,” suggesting these creatures were fiery angelic beings. According to the Hebrew tradition, the fact these seraphim each had six wings meant they possessed “remarkable powers.” These seraphim were magnificent, superhuman creatures. They were not of this world.
But check out what they do with their wings: Two wings cover their faces, two wings cover their feet, and they use the other two to fly around. Why would they cover their face and feet with their wings? Because it was a sign of them humbling themselves before God’s holiness.
These creatures were flying around, calling out to each other, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” And as they proclaim God’s holiness, the doorposts and thresholds of the temple shook and the whole place was filled with smoke. It was truly a sight to behold.
These leads to our first key point from Isaiah’s calling profile:
1. God is Overwhelming.
One of the most powerful words used to describe God’s character is the word “holy.” It means perfect, whole, mature, entirely set apart from the rest of the world. He is so holy, so good, so powerful, so in control, that when faced with the magnitude of his presence, it is very easy to feel completely overwhelmed! Even these 6-winged fiery angelic beings couldn’t handle the holiness of God, that they had to cover their eyes and feet as an act of humbling themselves before him.
This shows that God, in his perfect judgment, knows what he’s doing. He cannot be denied. He cannot be ignored. He cannot be overpowered. He is greater than this world. Therefore, when standing before God, it’s important that we understand a second point:
2. Feeling “Not Enough” Is Normal.
Check out Isaiah’s response to this vision:
5“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
Isaiah is wrecked, here! He’s practically saying, “Who am I???? To be the one to witness the Almighty God in this capacity! I can’t handle it! I am unworthy! I am sinful! I am a part of a sinful people! God, you are far too great for my humanity to handle.” Isaiah’s exposure to God’s perfection and holiness magnified his own imperfection and sinfulness. He felt completely unworthy in comparison. It was overwhelming.
When comparing ourselves to God, it becomes blatantly obvious how far we fall short. It’s like being told to compete in an obstacle course that you’re completely unfit for the task. That’s when the “not enough’s” start rolling in:
- I’m not good enough
- I’m not holy enough
- I’m not smart enough
- I’m not old enough
- I’m not young enough
- I’m not trained enough
- I’m not fluent enough
- I’m not popular enough
- I’m not strong enough
- I’m not pure enough
- I’m not qualified enough…
This is a very natural response when comparing ourselves to God and wrestling with what he may be calling us to do. Perhaps this may be even more apparent in your own life as your discerning your call to ministry. But there’s one more important point we can learn from Isaiah’s story:
3. God Cleans Us Up to Send Us Out.
Here’s what happens next to Isaiah:
6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
One of these fiery, angelic super beings takes a burning, fiery coal from the altar. This is significant because the altar is a place where people seek God for cleansing from their sin through offering sacrifices. Even today, we still go to the altar when we need to seek God for cleansing, healing. or direction.
Further, the fiery coal touching Isaiah’s lips signifies the cleansing of his soul, taking away his guilt, and atoning his sin. This action the seraphim did was a symbol of God’s grace. There was nothing Isaiah did to receive this. All he did was stand before God in his holiness and say he wasn’t worthy of seeing the Almighty God face to face!
When Isaiah stood before God’s unmatchable holiness, he also stood before God’s unmatchable grace. It wasn’t until Isaiah was cleansed by God’s grace that he would respond to God’s calling to be sent.
God is known for using ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things. Scripture is filled with countless examples of how misfits and nobodies are the ones God calls to preach his Word and advance his kingdom. While everyone is called to carry out God’s mission, there are times when he calls individuals to devote their lives as leaders of his movement. Often times, those he calls as ministry leaders feel unqualified for the task at hand. This is why it is of utmost importance that we turn to God with all of our insecurities, “not enough’s,” and sins, and allow him to cleanse us. He has already given us the opportunity to be cleansed through the death and resurrection of his Son, Jesus!
If God is calling you to ministry, not feeling “good enough” is no longer an excuse. He has given us everything we need to be cleansed and made new. It is only after we come to terms with God’s matchless grace that we can accept the call to be sent wherever he wants.
Oh, and I did end up completing the obstacle course, by the way. But it was only after hearing my friends encourage me, trained with me, and helped me overcome my shortcomings that I could complete the task.
