Who is on your throne?

by: Carole L. Haines

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. ² Seraphim were standing above Him, each having six wings: with two each covered his face, and with two each covered his feet, and with two each flew. ³ And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of armies. The whole earth is full of His glory.” ⁴ And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. ⁵ Then I said, “Woe to me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of armies.” (Isaiah 6:1-5)

This question arose in a Bible Study this week. “What occupies your mind a lot? What do you think about constantly?” “What is on the throne of your heart?” I had to admit to myself that My Beloved Husband was on my throne way too often. I was faced with the fact that I am sitting on it too often as well. The third thing that can sometimes get on my throne is money, or fear of the lack of it. I went through a tremendous financial loss during the economic downturn of 2008, lost everything but the shirt on my back. But God is so faithful and has brought us through to a place of great restoration. Yet every time things get rough financially, I tend to fear that loss again. I get triggered. When I get fearful, money goes on the throne. I skipped a few tithes when things got rough over the last 3 months. Cars needed fixing, appliances died. The basement flooded. It’s been rough. But as I was driving down the road the other day, God spoke clearly to my spirit that I was not trusting Him. He wanted me to tithe to Him in the midst of all this loss and not give in to fear. I immediately pulled the car over, called my husband and shared what God said to me. I handle our finances, so it’s easy for me to skip a tithe, but God was clear in His call for me to trust Him, so I asked my Husband to go online and pay our tithe immediately. I also asked my husband to take that responsibility upon himself, for he has more faith than I do.

I wish I could tell you that beginning to pay the tithe made everything get better, but it hasn’t, not yet. But I know that I have done the right thing in listening to God and obeying Him in this. I need to trust Him in this area and it is hard for me. Look back to the Scripture passage above, in it we can see that it was when King Uzziah died, someone Isaiah looked up to, that made him aware of God sitting on the Throne, high and lifted up. I needed to have this idol removed from the throne of my heart in order to see the Lord, and I was very aware of my sin. But God continues beyond my conviction. Let’s look at the rest of the story in Isaiah 6:

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. ⁷ He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin.” ⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Immediately after Isaiah confessed and repented, God cleansed Him. And immediately after that, God commissioned Him. God’s forgiveness is immediate when we repent, and His call and commission are still in our lives. We need to forgive ourselves and each other that quickly and restore each other.

Perhaps you feel the need to examine who is sitting on your throne after reading this? Just remember that after conviction and confession, God immediately cleanses you, restores you and commissions you to do His Good Work in the world. What a Gracious and Loving God we serve.