YouVersion

catalyst: God's holy presence!
reactant: sinful person
reaction: sinner's woeful cry of being unclean and God's gift of atonement
product: restored relationship with God

The power of God's holiness brought Isaiah to cry out woefully that he was a man of unclean lips living with an unclean people. This is the proper response to God. It is a curse of a calloused heart not to respond to God like Isaiah did. Ironically, this was the exact judgment God sent Isaiah to pronounce against the people of Israel. Until their exile out of Judah, they were to be cursed to be blind and deaf to God's holy presence.

Isaiah on the other hand could see and hear God. He could perceive God's staggering holiness and properly responded with repentance. And in response an angel brought to Isaiah atonement for his sin and he was cleansed.

If we can't perceive God, we won't repent. If we don't repent, we won't receive forgiveness. Therefore being spiritually blind and deaf is a spiritual death sentence because then one could never be saved.

How then can we be saved? We must cry out to God for a revelation of His holiness so that we will not be blind and deaf. We need to push everything out of the way that hinders that we might get into the presence of the Almighty God.

For a chemical reaction to take place, a certain amount of activation energy is required. A catalyst lowers the required activation energy without itself being changed or consumed during the reaction. Without the perception of God's holy presence, I don't think we have any hope of achieving the required "activation energy" to truly repent of our sin and receive God's forgiveness. God's holy presence is a catalyst that is never changed or consumed in the process.

Praise God for His holy presence and for when he reveals Himself to us. Lord, grant us the grace to see You high and lifted up in Your glorious presence that we may truly repent and receive atonement and enjoy true fellowship with You.