Holy, Holy, Holy!

“They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!”  Isaiah 6:3

“for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.”  1 Peter 1:16

 In the face of God’s holiness, we are nothing. We cannot even stand. There is absolutely nothing we can do to align ourselves with His perfection. So how can we obey the directive from 1 Peter?

 I think that in and of ourselves, this is hopeless. But God did not leave us on our own to obey His command. He has sent a part of Himself, the Holy Spirit, to dwell within us and sanctify us. This process, sanctification, isn’t like flipping on a light switch. It takes time. God brings us through life’s circumstances, the beautiful and the hard, to help grow our character and make us more like Himself. When we encounter hard times, difficult times, really wretched times, God meets us there. We get to experience His provision and care. We get to know Him as we couldn’t have in the good times. And we come out of it so much the better for it. I’m speaking from experience here.

 On the opposite side of this, I am now able to see Him much more clearly in the wonderful times as well! As I sit on the deck of a magnificent cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, hearing the waves crash around me, I am brought to a deeper, more precious awe and appreciation of God. He that created this vast ocean that surrounds me far beyond what my eye can see. His provision for me in not feeling ill at the exaggerated rocking of the ship. His blessing in the soft, warm weather that envelops me. His presence in the gentle breeze that ruffles my hair.

Here’s the Thing: God uses all these things, and more, to grow us to be more and more like Himself. While we can never match His holiness, this sanctification process the Holy Spirit works in us is our obedience to His command to, “be holy, because I am Holy.”

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