Then 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.”
(Isaiah 6:6–7)

This is a major part of the process as the Lord opens our eyes to His world program we call “Missions.” He shows us Himself first, not the starving millions, not the heathen in gross darkness. No, He begins with a one-on-one. He uses certain painful circumstances to make us look up, then He reveals some things about His character (theologians refer to these as God’s “attributes”) to make us see our need for Him. Did you catch the sharp contrast?

“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts” (6:3)
“I am ruined!...I am a man of unclean lips” (6:5)

Suddenly Isaiah is no longer viewing a vision from a safe distance, removed and out of touch. The whole scene literally comes to life as one of those seraphs steps out of the vision and flies toward our frightened friend. Without announcement, the winged creature sweeps into the prophet’s presence and does something most unusual. “Then one of the seraphim flew to me, with a burning coal in his hand which he had taken from the altar with tongs. And he touched my mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven’” (6:6–7).

The flying angel touches Isaiah with a hot coal. Did you notice where he touched the prophet? On his lips. I suggest there is significance in that act. Isaiah had just admitted he was “a foul-mouthed sinner” (TLB). It shouldn’t shock us, therefore, to take his confession literally. He no doubt struggled with profanity. And that is probably what the young man was using as an excuse to disqualify himself from God’s service.

We have such excuses:

• “I’m not physically well. I’m sickly—not strong enough.”
• “I’ve got this temper problem.”
• “I can’t speak very well in public.”
• “I don’t have a lot of education.”
• “My past is too raunchy. If only you knew!”
• “I have a prison record.”

And on and on and on. It’s the old bird-with-the-broken-pinion routine. But God is bigger than any of those reasons. He specializes in taking bruised, soiled, broken, guilty, and miserable vessels and making them whole, forgiven, and useful again.

Taken from Strengthening Your Grip by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2015 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Reprinted by permission of Worthy Books, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.