Here Am I

Good Morning,

Isaiah 6:8-9 (NIV)
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"
And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
He said, "Go ... "

The words we read, that were written so very long ago, still ring true today. You see, God still calls and asks the same questions of His children today, in January of 2010, that He did when speaking to Isaiah thousands of years ago.

So, who is it that God is calling? Who would it be that should go to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ? To whom would God give this awesome responsibility to spread His Good News?

Too many of us think that it would be those "ministers" or "preachers" or "pastors" that are called for this work...you know, those who might be sent and who would go to do God's will. I think that most of us would fully understand that it isn't only the job and work and going of those who are ordained to be leaders in our various congregations that are given this work. No, it is you...it is me...it is every child of God who answers Him and is willing to say, as Isaiah did, "Here am I. Send me!"

At one time or another every one of us has heard that still, small voice whispering in our heads, or perhaps have heard from God more clearly and directly through one of our brethren, the call from God, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" How we answer that call, God's request to go, determines much of how we live our Christian lives. On the one hand, we can refuse to hear God's call to us to go. Nothing adverse will happen to us if we don't acknowledge the urging of the Holy Spirit to go and spread the Gospel. We just, well, we just sort of plod along, attend our weekly worship services and try to live a "decent" life. Now, on the other hand, we can awaken that which has been sparked inside us and not only accept that we have heard from the Lord but also do exactly what Isaiah did and say, "Yes, Lord. I hear your voice. Send me!"

What will happen when we "go" and do as God asks? Well, I don't know, to tell you the truth. What happens in your life will be different than what happens in my life. After all, your acceptance of what God wants of you will be different than mine. You may be called to become one of those who are ordained by one denomination or another and do "official" work in a local congregation. I may be called to do sort of what I do each day, but more. Some will work in a homeless shelter and spread God's word, His plan of salvation, to those who are in great need. Others might just be called to go out and speak up wherever they find themselves; speak of Jesus Christ. I have no idea what any of us might really be led to do once we have conceded that God is Lord over our lives and then we go.

The first thing in all of this, of course, is to listen when we think we hear that voice, the voice of the Holy Spirit. Because if we don't take the time to listen, then we will not hear. If we do not hear, we cannot go. So, we must all listen in our prayer time and in our study time when we read the Bible. We must listen when we speak to brothers and sisters in Christ because God will use their voices to speak to us. We must always be diligent and attentive to hear what God would have for us to do and to where He might want us to go.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David