Send Me!

May 4, 2023

In Isaiah 6, Isaiah describes his life changing encounter he has with God in His throne room.

In verse 8, God invites Isaiah to respond to this life changing experience with obedience:

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!”

- Isaiah 6:8

Isaiah is then tasked with an extremely difficult challenge: To go and preach truth to the lost Israelites. Although he knows they won’t listen and they will be continually callous towards him, out of gratitude and obedience, Isaiah responds with the simple words: “Here I am. Send me!”

How does Isaiah take on such an impossible task? How does he have the confidence to prophesy for God, even though he knows the Israelites will continue to rebel and eventually be overtaken?

Confidence in the face of adversity is only possible when we’re completely convinced that we have found the truth.

Isaiah had sat in God’s throne room. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind about the God he followed. And sure the task was going to be difficult emotionally, but, spiritually, he was sure. It was as if he had to go convince others that the sky was blue. Why wouldn’t he do it? He knew he had found the truth.

Friends, what is our response when God asks, “Whom shall I send?”

We may not be prophets trying to reach a lost people. But Isaiah’s story is our story. In 2023, there are people who need to know that there is a God who loves them and has saved them. Are we confident that we have found the truth? And if so, are we willing to share it no matter the response or cost? Is it as clear as the sky being blue?

As I studied Isaiah’s obedience, I can’t lie… it made me ashamed of my frequent timidness when it comes to sharing my faith with nonbelievers. Sure it’s easy on a Sunday morning, but what about on the days when life feels really hard? Or when the friend we’re talking to doesn’t know the first thing about faith and might have some really difficult questions? Or when we want to do what WE want to do, so let’s just ignore the whole God thing until Sunday?

As a broken sinner, there are times where God asks, “Whom shall I send?” and my answer is, “Me… but tomorrow.” Or, “Me… but not to that one annoying person.” Or, “Me… but I just don’t want to make it weird.”

Friends, too often we water down our faith in order to keep ourselves comfortable. Isaiah faced discomfort. Jesus faced discomfort.

Are you willing to get uncomfortable for Jesus?

Are you willing to love on people who don’t want to hear it? God is looking to all of us, just as he looked to Isaiah, and asking, “Whom shall I send?”

My prayer is that we might sit with God, remembering that the same Spirit that Isaiah encountered and that rose Christ from the dead is living and active within us. My prayer is that we would become more aware and more confident of that Spirit. So the answer would be obvious every time.