“I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.”  Is 6:1

As a prophet, Isaiah had witnessed darkness and corruption, and called out the nation for their rebellion and hardheartedness. Over time, their insolence could easily wear even the strongest down. He confessed, “my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose” (49:4). But early in his ministry, Isaiah saw God. In the year that Israel’s longest reigning king died, Isaiah had an encounter with the Sovereign Lord exalted high above all rule and authority. This glimpse into the reality of heaven, of God sitting upon the throne over all creation, inspired and energized him to serve faithfully for sixty-four years, spanning the lives of four kings. 

Beloved we will not survive long either if we only gaze upon the wickedness and debauchery that surrounds us. This is a delicate balance. We cannot become fixated upon evil, but neither can we be ignorant of the Devil’s schemes and devices. We acknowledge the rapid decay of morals and even reason in our day, but we do not despair because of it. God is still on the throne. Even when wickedness seems to prevail, it cannot extend beyond the boundaries God sets. When people around us are depressed and freak out, we must in the spirit of David say I will not fret because of evildoers…for they shall soon be cut down like the grass (Ps 37:1). As Paul said to the Thessalonians, “we are not like those who have no hope” (1 The 4:13). 

Paul’s words to the young church in Ephesus are also a great reminder to us today. Ephesus was built in the shadow of the great Temple of Diana. As such, it was a center of the cruelest forms of idolatry and perversion. Paul does not hold back when describing the depravity of the city, even saying many of them had been delivered from lewdness, deceitful lusts, thievery, greed and drunkenness, to name a few. His answer? He points them to Jesus, seated at the right hand of God, “far above all principalities and powers and might and dominion, and every name that is named” (Eph 1:21). Even Diana. 

The prescription for the “Hebrews” is very similar to what Isaiah had gone through. These believers had faced intense persecution. They were tempted to “become weary and discouraged in their souls” (12:3). Their hands were drooping and their knees had become weak (12:12). So what was the answer for them? “Fix [your] eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (12:2 NIV). Don’t be captive to the things around you or let the narratives that bombard the airwaves be the masters of how you think and feel. Lift up your eyes and behold, He rules over a Kingdom that can never, ever be shaken. 

Very few people get to see the Lord in the same way Isaiah did. While the experience is obviously amazing, God knows what we need to stand firm in our day. Seeing the Lord high and lifted up need not be with the natural eye. Knowing God is in charge is indispensable. Faith in His sovereignty anchors us in storms of persecution, in the shadows of Diana’s perversity, or as gross darkness descends upon us in our generation. As we enter into the New Year, let us ask God for a fresh set of eyes to behold Him, even as Isaiah later would promise the soon to be taken captive nation of Israel…