Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
Isaiah 6:8 NIV
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
This verse came in the midst of Isaiah’s encounter with the living God. He saw the Lord, high and lifted up, with seraphim in attendance. The vision was so awe-inspiring that Isaiah was left broken, deeply aware of his own sin and inadequacy.
Then one of the seraphim touched his lips with a live coal taken from the altar and pronounced him clean, his sins atoned for. Following this, he heard God say, “Whom shall I send?“
Isaiah’s response was an enthusiastic plea to have that privilege. To be the one that God would send. Even before he knew what he was being sent for. What an amazing response to God’s call.
Compare Isaiah’s response with Moses’s (Exodus 3:4-4:17). God called Moses out of the burning bush to commission him as Israel’s deliverer. Unlike Isaiah, Moses knew what his calling was. But he was reluctant, offering a number of excuses. Ultimately he asked God just to send someone else. But in the end, he went and was the instrument of God’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt.
Responding to God’s Call
I am reasonably sure that my response to God’s call is all too often more like Moses than Isaiah. Dragging my feet and looking at my own limitations. It is much easier to see why something cannot be done than it is to just jump at the opportunity to serve. In whatever way that is.
Lord, give me the heart and willingness of Isaiah. To be filled with awe in your presence. And to jump at the chance to serve you. In whatever you call me to.
