Holy WOW!

When did you last say, “WOW!” and really mean it? Was it a sunset, an amazing vista, or a summer shower? Was it an unexpected phone call from an old friend, a smile from a stranger, or the breath of an infant on your neck? Whatever it was or whenever it happened, each and every large and small “wow” in life is a gift from God.

You might even call such moments a “Holy Wow!”

Isaiah experienced a “holy wow” during a vision where he saw the angels before God’s throne singing “Holy, holy, holy.” He recognized the holiness of the moment. He saw the distance between his humanity and God’s perfection. He heard God’s question of “Whom shall I send?” and responded in the moment with the heart of a true volunteer, “Here am I; send me!”

Which leads me to believe that a “Holy Wow!” moment calls for a response from me. At minimum it’s a word of thanks. Ideally it becomes a question of “What should I do now?”

What do you do with the “Holy Wow!” moments of your life? How do you respond? What do you do in reaction to God’s presence in your life? Those are the questions I’m pondering in advance of this Sunday’s sermon on Isaiah 6.1-8. It’s called Beyond Wow. If you’d like to share some of your “Holy Wow!” moments, I’d love to read about them...jot me a line back at glong@fbcgaithersburg.org.

Holy cow!
Pastor Gary

Long Story, Short is a Friday email I write to get you thinking about church on Sunday. You can read more of my writing at Life to the Lees. You’re invited to worship at First Baptist Church of Gaithersburg this Sunday at 10:30 am.

Isaiah 6:1-8
A Vision of God in the Temple
6In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And one called to another and said:‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory.’ 4The pivots* on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’

6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7The seraph* touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’