Paradise Calvary Chapel

Here I Am

“Also 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,’” (Isaiah 6:8). Sometimes I ask myself, am I listening to the call of the Lord? Have I already heard it, and have ignored that call, or just wasn’t paying attention? I’m not always certain of the answer, sometimes I think I’m right where the Lord needs me, and sometimes I wonder if I’m on the right track at all. It makes me really admire the ones that the Lord called to by name, and when they heard His voice had the courage to say “Here I am!” In perhaps one of my favorite passages in scripture, the prophet Isaiah had a vision. He saw the throne of the Lord, and angelic seraphim worshiping Him. Isaiah was humbled, he knew he was a sinner and confessed that he was unworthy of being in the Lord’s presence. One of the angels took some of the coal from the temple’s alter and pressed it against Isaiah’s lips, telling him his sin was purged; fire was often a symbol for God’s judgment, and the act of searing Isaiah’s lips was a symbolic of Isaiah’s sins being burned away. After Isaiah’s repentance, God asks who He should choose to send His message to Israel. Isaiah immediately shouted, “I’m here! Send me!” I love Isaiah’s spirit, but I always notice that God didn’t make His request until after Isaiah’s sins were addressed. It also says something how God could have spoken to Isaiah and told him what to do, but He didn’t do that. God needed a messenger, He didn’t demand one. He waited until Isaiah’s heart was in a place that could serve Him, and then He asked so that Isaiah would choose to follow His instructions. This happens so many times in the bible, where God calls out to people, after they respond to Him, God continues. God does this in our lives, He has special tasks for us, but He waits until we are humbled to ask for forgiveness and then asks us to do His will. There are many different tasks God asks His followers to do, some He has teach where they live, others He sends to the ends of the earth. So, keeping in mind God’s tendency to call and wait for us to respond, I still ask myself, if God were to call out to me, would I have the heart and courage to answer: “Here I am, send me!”?