"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: 'Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?' And I said: 'Here am I. Send me!'"
~ Isaiah 6:8
I'll be honest with you, friend...
When I was young, I was petrified of this verse! I was terrified that the Father was going to have me up and move to Timbuktu to be a missionary when there's not an ounce of the gift of evangelism running through my veins.
An open heart?
Absolutely not.
In fact, I suspect this idea of a need to authentically be willing to say, "Here I am, Lord. Send me." is the thing that kept me from surrender and intimacy the longest.
We all want autonomy. It's human to desire the power of choice and free will.
The thing we don't fully understand is, we have so much greater, so much more expansive presence and authenticity of self under His yoke than we could ever find without Him.
As we lean on the everlasting arms, under His protection, and say, "Here I am..." we come to know what it is to truly soar.
How often do we get a li'l petulant when we, like Isaiah, hear the voice of the Lord? How often do we muster all of the excuses... but, God, I am not a man of clear speech!
Good news. God was able to use Moses anyway.
I kind of feel like it's a nice parallel to simply needing the faith of a mustard seed. If we have the willingness the size of a mustard seed in our surrender, He can get us there.
Have you ever internally gone into the throne room and mentally willfully lain yourself on the altar, or at the foot of the Father, at the foot of the Savior, at the foot of the cross, in a gesture of full and absolute surrender?
It's an interesting exercise. It can take as long as you want or be as quick an experience as you choose, but I highly recommend it.
Step out the actions in your mind. Come before Him and mentally, visually, offer yourself as the living sacrifice to His Will.
If it calls to you, do it again, and maybe even again.
As we offer ourselves up, moment by moment and day by day, there are realms beyond to explore, intimacy and connection with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit to be gained.
A practice worthy of practice.
Oh, and the reality is, He has equipped you for whatever sending there may be. He will be there with you to walk it out.
You never know, maybe He's just planning to send you into the next room.
Whatever it is, you were uniquely crafted for it. And, the God and Creator of the universe is on your side.
With Him, you've got this.
Elohim,
We trust You.
We choose You.
We surrender.
"Here am I. Send me."
... however You will.
I am Yours.
Thank You for writing each of your children into Your story. May we serve You well. May we live into and live out our part of that story, today and always.
Amen.
"Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." ~ Romans 12:1
"Submit yourselves, then, to God..." ~ James 4:7a
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." ~ Hebrews 4:16
"Be doers of the word, and not hearers only..." ~ James 1:22a
May the Good Lord bless you and keep you, friends... always, in all ways. Amen.
Bonus song of praise... ♥
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