Getting Away From Going Through The Motions

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!"
                Isaiah 6:5 ESV



Have you ever felt like you are going through the motions of life?  More specifically, the Christian life?  I think a lot of us, if we're honest, would say yes.  Oh, we go through the motions of loving others, loving God, serving Him and living with all the "right" morals.  In other words, from the outside, life looks good.  All sunshine and roses.

But what is going on inside isn't so nice.  We have inner turmoil that most of the time we can ignore, but those questions keep plaguing us.  Do I really know God?  Do I really know how to love God and others? How is a Christian supposed to feel?  Why is my heart numb and calloused? How am I different than every other moral person?

Isaiah had a similar life before encountering God in Isaiah chapter 6. I don't know if he ever asked himself these questions, but he had a concept of who God was, as any good Jew should.  He also knew that he was supposed to serve God, which is probably why he was in the temple, going through the motions of his duties as one of the aristocracy of Jerusalem.  (Doesn't that sound like a lot of us, going about our duties in the church or charities?)

But on this particular day, God chose to reveal Himself and take Isaiah's nice, cushy life in a whole new direction.  Isaiah came face to face with the harsh reality of his own sinfulness and pride.  But even more importantly, God in all His glory and majesty, became a reality. (I encourage you to read all of Isaiah chapter 6.) From this day forward, Isaiah followed the call of God, prophesying God's word to the people of Judah, and lived a life that was not cushy.

Ultimately, I think living a life of "motions" does boil down to the first question: do I really know God?  So if that's the problem, what is the solution?  

Like Isaiah, we need an encounter with God, where He goes from being a concept to a reality.  Our encounter won't look like Isaiah's, but will be exactly what we need to change our beliefs and priorities; taking us from living for ourselves to living for Him.

Are you still confused about how to have an encounter with God?  I believe that if you take the time to spend in God's Word, pray to Him to become real to you, you will encounter Him.  He wants us to seek Him.  So why would He ignore your request?  But be prepared that your life will no longer be the same.