“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord…” Isaiah 6:1
I suspect that this will be the first in a new series of posts. When looking through scripture one notices the trend of God bringing prophets, saints, kings, etc. to a place of apparent defeat before His victory can be manifested in their lives and the lives of those around them. A few weeks ago I wrote about Job and his relationship with God in the midst of Job’s tribulation (You should have been there, it was epic). I doubt that Job would have been as “pliable” in communicating about God’s mercy to us today if he hadn’t been tenderized.
Isaiah also comes to mind. In Isaiah 6, a quintessential chapter of worship, the prophet opens with, “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne…” Very little of Isaiah’s relationship with King Uzziah is known, aside from the fact that Jerusalem had become prosperous under Uzziah’s reign. Scripture refers to Uzziah as a good and successful king in spite of his overstepping his spiritual authority which brought God’s judgement of leprosy on him. The nation of Judah responded to Uzziah’s death in much the same way the United States responded to the death of President Kennedy, himself a successful and beloved, yet flawed, leader. The casual observer would find it curious that Isaiah would be divinely inspired to start a passage of worship with reference to hardship. Yet, I suppose that Isaiah would not have been as tuned into the voice of God had his heart not be tenderized.
Which brings me to the point. Any “Foody” will tell you that to tenderize meat without adding to or taking away its inherent flavor requires a bit of whacking. There are chemical processes that can be used, however they alter the intrinsic taste of the food. To tenderize, yet preserve subtle flavor, one must employ a little hardship. There are kitchen utensils and gadget designed for the purpose. In a pinch a cast iron pan will work or the broadside of a hammer or, my choice of weapon, a twelve inch length of two by four. Regardless of the implement used, a tough piece of meat is much more palatable after it has been “roughed up” a bit. In Isaiah’s case, his heart was much more palatable toward receiving a call from God because he had been tenderized (feel free to read more on my thoughts regarding Isaiah’s calling at Listen for the Call).
Ravi Zacharias is fond of a poem that speaks well of this dynamic…
When God wants to drill a man
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And which every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out-
God knows what He’s about.
Anonymous
Scripture is replete with stories of people that needed to be softened up without changing the essence of who God created them to be; Moses, Naomi, Ezekiel, Hosea, Peter, Paul…I could go on and on. In fact, I probably will start a short series on “God’s Meat Tenderizer.”
Life is hard, but we’re promised, “A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” (Isaiah 42:3) Are you feeling a bit bruised? Is your once bright light just smoldering a thin wisp of smoke? There are two ways to respond when whacked with the two by four of life; beg for cheese and crackers with our whine or let ourselves become more palatable to God and to a world that his hungry for Him. Who specifically is God preparing us to be palatable to? What path of sorrow are we walking now in order to be tender toward the next soul that feels like giving up?