Isaiah 6:8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”
You know the feeling. A teacher asks the class a question, and almost in harmony, all the students’ eyes suddenly become fixated on the floor. Avoid eye contact at all costs! It happens quite frequently in my Public Speaking classes when I say, “Who wants to go first?”
Our human proclivity leans toward reluctance when it comes to getting out of our comfort zone. But shouldn’t we always be ready to say yes to God when he asks, “Whom shall I send?”
Like Isaiah.
The sixth chapter of Isaiah records how he responded when the Lord asked who he could send. Isaiah knew the stakes. God was sending him to confront the nation with very bad news. Devastation was coming because of their rebellion. Isaiah clearly didn’t feel qualified to bring such an unwelcome message. “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips,” he cried. But an angel touched those unclean lips and the first words his now-clean lips uttered were, “Here I am. Send me.”
It reminds me of a similar question posed before time was created. The scene takes place in heaven where an angel presents a scroll with seven seals. Within its contents lies God’s redemptive plan for the future of mankind. The angel cries out, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” No one. No one. No one, was found worthy….
Until the lion of Judah stepped forward as the Lamb of God and said, “Here am I. Send me.” And all of heaven breaks out in joyous, worshipful celebration.
So back to us. I don’t want to enter into that heavenly realm someday and hear God voice the question, “Why didn’t you say yes to my call? All my excuses—I didn’t feel I had the right gifts; I knew I couldn’t handle the rejection; I was just so busy—will fall flat.
Friend, don’t wait for someone else to clear the minefield. When God asks, “Whom shall I send?” without hesitation, respond, “Send me!”