And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’
(Isaiah 6:7 ESV)
There are moments when we become suddenly aware of just how far we fall short.
That’s what happens to Isaiah in chapter 6. He sees the Lord, high and exalted, surrounded by holiness, and his immediate response isn’t worship, but collapse. He cries out, “Woe is me! I am undone.” In the presence of perfect holiness, Isaiah becomes painfully aware of his own sin.
No excuses. No explanations. Just the honest truth of who he is.
But the story doesn’t stop there. A seraph descends with a burning coal from the altar and touches Isaiah’s lips. The Hebrew word used here is naga’ (נָגַע), pronounced naw-GAH. It means “to touch” or “to make contact.” It can sometimes describe a touch that strikes or wounds, but here, it becomes something unexpected: a touch that heals instead of harms.
A burning coal pressed to human lips should bring pain and damage. But here, the touch does just the opposite. It cleanses. It restores. It removes guilt. The same holiness that made Isaiah tremble is now the very thing that purifies him.
That’s the paradox of naga’. God’s touch doesn’t work like ours. When we come into contact with something unclean, we are contaminated by it. But when God touches what is unclean, it purifies the thing He touches.
We all know what Isaiah felt like. Maybe not a vision of the throne room, but that moment when we become aware of things that we’ve said. Words we wish we could take back, words said in anger, moments where our lips revealed what was really in our hearts. Like Isaiah, we know what it’s like to feel “unclean.”
And we know the temptation to minimize it. To clean up the outside and hope no one looks too closely. But Isaiah 6 reminds us that true cleansing comes only from God’s touch.
After the touch, everything changes for Isaiah. The guilt and shame that overwhelmed him is gone and the one who said, “I am undone,” is now ready to say, “Here am I. Send me.” That’s what happens when God touches a life. He doesn’t just remove what is wrong. He restores purpose. He doesn’t just take something away. He gives something back.
If you feel unworthy today, remember Isaiah. Remember that God’s holiness is not only something to fear, but something that can transform. His touch is powerful enough to take away guilt and to restore what’s been broken.
When God draws near, even the deepest uncleanness is not the end of the story. It’s the beginning of redemption.
Prayer: Lord, you are holy and pure, and yet you draw near to us in our brokenness. Thank you for the touch that cleanses. Remove our guilt, and restore what has been damaged by sin. Help us to respond like Isaiah, ready and willing to follow wherever you lead. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Alan Smith
Reprinted with permission from Alan Smith’s Thought For the Day