Holy

Consider what comes to mind when you consider God’s holiness. What is your definition of holy?

We may attempt to define “holy” but A.W. Tozer suggests that “we know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. The natural man is blind to it. He may fear God’s power and admire His wisdom, but His holiness he cannot even imagine.”

So to best understand the holiness of God, perhaps it would be helpful to see what happens when others encounter it.

Meditation

Isaiah 6:1-6

In 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.  Above 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. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
    the whole earth is full of his glory.”
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “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.”

Job 42: 1-6

Then Job replied to the Lord:
² “I know that you can do all things;
    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
³ You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
    Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me to know.
⁴ “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.’
⁵ My ears had heard of you
    but now my eyes have seen you.
⁶ Therefore I despise myself
    and repent in dust and ashes.”

Matthew 17:1-8

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. ³ Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.
⁴ Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
⁵ While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.” ⁸ When they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

When is the last time you were in awe of God? Do your thoughts about God include a wonder at the dizzying heights of his grandeur? Does your theology acknowledge mystery and inexplicable and incomprehensible otherness of God? Today, we will sit and worship a holy God. As you engage in solitude today, we encourage you to invite the Holy Spirit to reveal a knowledge of the holy.

Read Revelation 4

Read Psalm 99:1-3

Confession

“Left to ourselves we tend immediately to reduce God to manageable terms. We want to get Him where we can use Him or at least know where He is when we need Him. We want a God we can in some measure control. We need the feeling of security that comes from knowing what God is like and what He is like is of course a composite of all the religious pictures we have seen, all the best people we have known or heard about and all the sublime ideas we have entertained. “

A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

Read Psalm 19

Invite the Holy Spirit to reveal to you where you have made God manageable; able to control. Ask the Spirit to uncover the pieces of your life that God wants to redeem and cleanse. Share your heart with God; the good, the bad and the ugly. It is when we are most vulnerable with God, that He is able to finally begin the work of redeeming the shadowy corners. God is not afraid of our mess.

The rest of the time is for you and God. Invite Him to speak or sit with Him in companionable silence.

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