That Moment When You Realize Who God Is And What You Are

As much as I love to write about the fact that God loves us so much and that we don't have to live in fear - He's not mad at us - I also know that when we truly come into His presence, His purity and holiness will convict us of any sin or wrong attitudes in our hearts.  He doesn't have to say a word, His very being says it all.

Do you remember when you realized God was real and that you were a sinner?

I do.  I was 14 and had had a "near death" experience with carbon monoxide poisoning.  I had thought I wanted to wait until later to give my life to God because I had "things" I wanted to do first. After coming so close to being in eternity, I realized my wanting to wait was nothing more than sinful desires to do things that were less than God's best for me. I knew God was real and I realized how selfish I was.  

Isaiah had such an experience.  He had a vision of God and he exclaimed: “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”  (Isaiah 6:5 NLT)

He realized how holy God is and how unholy he was. The problem was taken care of when an angel brought a coal from the Holy Altar and used it to purify Isaiah's lips.

It dawned on Peter that Jesus was God after a miraculous catch of fish and his first reaction was the realization of his own sinfulness.

Modern Day Fisherman

Luke 5:1-11 New King James Version (NKJV)

 So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”
But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”
For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

Once Peter realized his sinfulness, Jesus could begin the work of transforming Peter into the calling He had for him.  Jesus said, "Don't be afraid, from now on, you will catch men.

The bad news is, there will be many times we come into God's presence and realize all over again how impure and unholy we are.  It will ever be so this side of heaven. We can become paralyzed with fear when we truly realize what we are ...

The great fantastic news is, He is faithful and just to forgive us when we confess our sins.  The work of transforming us to be more like Him is an ongoing process. Don't wait to get started!

I'm adding this post to my Fearless series.

I'm also sharing this post at the #Tell His Story community at Jennifer Dukes Lee.