I Can See Clearly Now

               One summer while visiting family in Phoenix I was driving on the interstate in the city when I heard a warning siren come over the radio.  The siren was not warning of a tornado, hurricane, or thunderstorm.  It turned out to be a dust storm warning called a “haboob”. The dust storm was terrible; it filled the air making driving difficult.  It reduced vision to a few feet and affected cars and endangered breathing.  The dust storm left a cloud of dust in the air.  Then came a thunderstorm and it cleared away the dust until all could see clearly.

            The godly prophet Isaiah experienced a faith renewing vision that helped him to see things clearly.  In Isaiah 6:1 we read: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple”. Isaiah had a vision of God seated on His throne.  The angels surrounded Him and cried out: “holy, holy, holy”.  This vision of God reassured Isaiah that His God is eternal, He is powerful, and He is holy.  Isaiah next had a vision of himself.  Even though Isaiah was a man of God he knew that compared to God, he was unworthy.  He said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because 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.” (Isa. 6:5).  Isaiah finally had a vision of His mission when He answered the Lord’s call with the words: “Here am I send Me” (Isa. 6:8).

            Dust storms happen in our lives too.  We sometimes get so enmeshed in our own problems, pain, and priorities that it clouds our vision.  It makes it difficult to see God and His blessings when there is so much dust in the air.  As God’s people today, we need a faith renewing vision of God, a sober view of ourselves, and a heart-rending look at our mission. With that vision we will be able to say: I can see clearly now.