“Then I said, ‘Woe is 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 hosts.’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven.’ 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!'” (Isa 6:5-8).

Believers who struggle with addictions constantly live in a vicious cycle of “Woe is me, for I am ruined.” They truly believe God wants to incinerate them with his holiness. The way out of this vicious cycle is… you guessed it… the gospel! God revealed his holiness to Isaiah to lead him to the altar of forgiveness… and beyond; to a life of service. God wants you to know he is perfectly holy. And he also wants you to know that is the reason he sent the Messiah! Through Christ’s sacrifice, you can be perfectly forgiven, and fully restored. There is, dear friends, more than enough coal at Christ’s altar for your sin and for mine. Set your gaze upon that altar long enough, and eventually you will hear God calling out to you, “Who will go for Us?” The gospel is God’s power to bring us from

“Woe is me” to “Please send me!” “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21).