Most of us will never “see” the Lord with eyes or audibly hear his voice with

ears, but we have his Word and his Spirit within us.

God reveals himself to us and what then do we do with that?

How do we “see the Lord”? There are words that come to mind that Position us to see and hear the Lord.

  • Posture
  • Preparation
  • Provision
  • Presistence
  • Presence

I was then looking at several passages where “saw the Lord” is shown. One that came to mind was in Daniel 7:13-14. Daniel saw the coming future of the full dominion of one like the son of man with clouds of heaven… given dominion, glory, and a Kingdom… every people, nation, and language to serve him in an everlasting indestructible Kingdom and then in v15 his reaction My spirit was deeply distressed and the visions in my mind terrified me.

Seeing God, sounds exciting, but it is frightening and carries responsibility.

But of course, the most famous passage is Isaiah 6. The prophet shares his testimony, In the year that King Uzziah died, I Saw the Lord…

Isaiah had a vision to prepare him to be used by God as his voice to the people of HIS day, but then literally to every generation since who seek the Lord. Isaiah was used by God to give us a clear picture of God’s call to his people, the Provision of the coming Messiah, and what the days would be like when he restores all things.

To See the Lord, Preparation has to happen and Posturing takes place. Sometimes this happens intentionally, and other times it is circumstantial.

I’ve read, pondered, taught, and preached from this passage many times, but the word of God is living and active… and I saw something yesterday that felt very real and relatable to me.

In the YEAR that King Uzziah died… Uzziah was a great king, militarily, in building projects, and in his love and passion for God. Uzziah was man who sought the Lord and led his people to do the same. But for Isaiah, it is believed that he and Uzziah were related, perhaps as an Uncle or Cousin. As King, as Family, certainly Isaiah looked up to Uzziah. Uzziah was King for 52 year, but Uzziah, in spite of success, had a great fall. Uzziah tried to step outside his role as King, and offer an Incense Sacrifice in the Temple, which is strictly forbidden, and God struck him with leprosy and his final days were spent in separation, disease, and disgrace.

All of this prepared Isaiah to seek the Lord.

Notice, in the YEAR that… not “in the day that” or “in the week/month that”…

When we lose someone close, a hero, it takes time to grieve, to mourn, to be humbled, “why Lord?”

I feel Isaiah, struggling, came to the Temple.

I’ve preached this passage many times, and so I won’t belabor the points… but Isaiah was Postured, humbled, he was Prepared, knowing that no one else was on the throne, so he Saw the Lord seated high and lifted up… The Lord is surrounded by servants and worshippers.

Isaiah Persisted in looking and staying there in the Presence, he didn’t run away or look away…

When he Saw the Lord, then he Saw Himself…

  • Woe is me… I am ruined

We need to see ourselves, as we are…

  • He Confessed his Sin – I am a man of unclean lips, among a people of unclean lips

I’m only conjecturing here, but it is interesting the confession he gives. a man of unclean lips. If he was grieving, I wonder about his days, what kind of statements and prayers had he offered. Were there perhaps honest “accusations”, spoken or unspoken that he made about “A God who would allow my king to die”. Or about “My hero that let me down”.

Just getting “real” here.

I remember losing a close friend to sudden death at a relatively young age. I was in a funk for a period after that. I wasn’t “angry” but I was “confused”. “Lord, why would this happen?” I didn’t “see” the Lord, or “hear” and audible voice, but one day in my office, I sensed the Lord ask, “Jim, are you going to figure this out?” I thought, “no”. Then the Lord impressed on me the question at what my friend was doing at that very moment. I sat forward in my chair and said, “he is Worshiping you.” Then as clear as a voice, I sensed the Lord say, “then why don’t you just join him, until or even if you never figure this out.” I said, “I can do that.”

My Focus Changed

Why was Isaiah aware of his sin and know that he was “ruined” in need of being silent? My eyes has seen the King, the Lord of Armies”

At some point, we need to look away from what we face, who we idolize, what we don’t understand, and look at the Lord.

Then with Confession comes Cleansing. Romans 10:9 and 1 John 1:9 are powerful truths that match Isaiah 6:7. Yes, if we confess that Jesus is Lord… we will be saved… If we confess our sin he is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse…

  • 6:7 he touched my mouth… your iniquity is removed and your sin atoned for

Seeing the Lord, Seeing ourselves, Confessing Sin…

“Why doesn’t God speak to me?” Have you looked? Have you Seen, Have you Seen yourself and Confessed sin? Well, then you aren’t ready to hear anything else.

  • Then I heard the Voice of the Lord… Who will Go for us?
  • I said, Here I am, Send Me.

Yes Lord, it is a Process of lifting our eyes to the Lord, seeing, confessing, then hearing…

My mind immediately went to Psalm 121 – I lift my eyes to the hills 2 my help comes from the Lord 3 … your protector will never sleep…

Then I continued to read to Psalm 122:1 – the first verse I ever memorized as a boy, I was glad with those who said to me, ‘Let’s go to the house of the Lord’

Then I continued to Psalm 123 I lift my eyes to you, the one enthroned in Heaven…

And then finally to Psalm 124 if the Lord had not been on our side… they would have swallowed us alive… 6 Blessed be the Lord who has not let us be ripped apart… 8 our help is in the Name of the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth…

Go read all of those Psalms into 125 as well… My, My, My…

Look Up, Look In, Listen, and Respond