01/14/2025
After reading my devotional message this morningregarding our answering the call of God, I began to think about how easy it would be to ignore that call. How easy it would be to stand idle or sit in the back of the class and never raise my hand.
In 2015 I was in the office of a fellow worker when he received a phone call from a man at his church. As they talked I realized that they were trying to decide if they had enough men signed up to feed the homeless at the Nashville Rescue Mission that night. After he hung up the phone I asked if I could join them, and he said yes. I did this with them for a few years and each time I was blessed beyond measure. God didn't ask me specifically, but nonetheless He gave me the opportunity to answer the call.
This is exactly what happened to Isaiah when he was given a vision of heaven. He was made privy to a conversation God was having and...
“Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”
Isaiah 6:8 KJV
Isaiah answered a call that wasn't directed specifically towards him, it was directed to all people and Heavenly beings. He could have easily stood there and said nothing... after all he was just a man, even though he had been made free of sin...
“Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
Isaiah 6:5 KJV
But God had prepared him, and he was ready to do more for the kingdom than he was doing...
“Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”
Isaiah 6:6-7 KJV
Isaiah wasn't told to do this thing for God, he volunteered without really being asked. It wasn't until Isaiah said "send me" that he knew what he was being sent to do. Until the moment of stepping forward he had no idea what the task might be. It was then that God told him...
“And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.”
Isaiah 6:9-10 KJV
So Isaiah received his mission, but he still had no idea how long this would take. Would it be a week, A year, A lifetime? It was only then that he asked, but whatever God’s answer would be, that was what he was prepared to do.
“Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.”
Isaiah 6:11-12 KJV
Before I entered my coworker’s office that morning and I asked if I could help his church feed the homeless, A coal had been placed on my lips as well... I had been studying and teaching on the mercies and was sensitive to the needs of those around me. But even at that, I could have remained silent, after all, it was someone else's church... not mine, and this was their mission... or was it?
So I asked if I could help; I said "send me." As clearly as Isaiah had said “send me”. I had no idea how often they did this or how long they intended to do it for, but I knew that I needed to join them until the Lord said it is finished.
Has the Lord prepared your lips? Are you hearing Godly conversations and standing there silent? Are you afraid to commit yourself for fear of failure? Are you asking yourself "How can I possibly do this?" Well the answer is simple if we listen first to the voice of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and just do it…
“And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.”
Luke 22:41-43 ESV
And hear another verse as Jesus encourages us to do with God what we often think we can’t…
“But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26 KJV
If we listen to Christ we can answer many calls in the course of our lives and provide great service to God. The strength we have is limited only as God is limited, and we know that He is without limitation. Are we ready to listen and answer the call?
Prayer:
Father thank you for calling me to do your will but thank you especially for those times that you surprise me with an unexpected calling that blesses me so immensely. Father, let me always be ready to step forward when I hear your voice ask, "Whom shall I send?" Lord remove the fear and doubt I might feel at that moment and replace it with your courage and confidence. All things are possible through you, Oh Lord. You can take my human hands and do Heavenly things, you can take unclean lips and purify them with a coal, you can take my small voice and make it like a mighty rushing wind, you can take my legs that are too weak for the journey and adorn them with wings. Father my trust is in you, and I listen for your voice to whisper in my ear "who will go for us?" At that moment Holy Father Give me the faith, courage, and strength to say "send me!" Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who sends me into the world, or into an unlikely place to save a single lamb. Holy are you who speaks and then let’s me decide if I will answer. O Father, circumcise my heart that I might feel your desire, and open my ears, that I will hear your small still voice and go wherever it is that you direct me. When you send me into a storm let me praise you in it, when you send me into the lion’s den let me be courageous, and when you tell me to rest or wait, let me be patient, and at peace in you. Your mercy, grace, and strength are sufficient for me in every situation that you lead me into, and I will worship and give you all the glory for the victory you extract from each of them. Speak Father, so that I can say “Send Me!” without hesitation. In this way I will walk with you and be in your presence always and forevermore. In this way eternity with you is my great desire, and my reward.
Amen, Amen, Amen!
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13 ESV
“Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!””
1 Samuel 3:4 ESV
Rich Forbes