O, For a Touch!

“The Lord God of hosts,
he who touches the earth and it melts,
    and all who dwell in it mourn,
and all of it rises like the Nile,
    and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;
who builds his upper chambers in the heavens
    and founds his vault upon the earth;
who calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—
the Lord is his name.” Amos 9:5-6

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

“’Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!^‘

“And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’” Isaiah 6:1-7

The hand of the invisible God moves in such mighty and majestic ways that the effects of His touch make Him known. The prophets whose spirits had been moved by His hand uttered revelations, warnings, and promises that further expressed His plans for His people. As examples of those inspired by Him, their words are potent in portraying and pronouncing so we cannot help but be affected.

The power of a touch from God is limitless in its outcomes. Creating, melting, feeding, cleansing, healing, God’s touch is life-making, life-sustaining, and life-changing. His fingers translate what His mind imagines into being. His hands formed the ocean and holds it at its borders, set stars in place and upholds them in sustaining power, and tends to those He loves. (Genesis 2:7; 32:24-30; Job 38:8-11; Psalm 104:27-28; Proverbs 8:27-29; Mark 5:41-42; 8:22-25)

Where do I need a touch from the Lord? For whom has my heart grown hard, calloused to change? How might God’s melting warm the prospect of forgiveness, promote healing, renew love? What errant thoughts, sharp words, uncontrolled impulses and reactions, need the touch of purification? What mindset, anxiety, or habit needs the touch that heals, that removes disease and destruction and soothes afresh? What upheavals need settling, what cares and sorrows pine for soothing from God’s gracious, loving hand? (Amos 9:15; Revelation 21:4)

To receive the Lord’s touch we must come, and that in faith. He is able and ready, hands outstretched to receive and dispense. What self-determination or pride keeps us from approaching this gracious, bountiful Lord? For what specifically will we seek Him today? (Luke 8:43-48; Hebrews 4:16)

Father, sanctify and sustain me by Your mighty touch, so my life touches others in Your name.