Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 (NLT)
I’ve been thinking about Isaiah lately and this verse. Isaiah’s ministry was not easy. He had to go to a corrupt nation and tell them they were corrupt and they needed to change how they did things. He predicted their destruction. He predicted that nations would conquer them and to make matters worse, they thought these nations were more evil than they were. It wasn’t an easy job. Imagine trying to do this today?
But I don’t think Isaiah looked at that when he volunteered. He came face to face with the Holy One of Israel and he was changed. You see, when you come face to face with Jesus, when you get to know him and understand deep in your soul what he has done for you, something happens to you. In the depths of your being you are changed and suddenly, the things you thought were important aren’t important any more. The things you focused on become blurry and the things God wants you to see become prominent.
There is a pull inside you that draws you to a different list of accomplishments, to a different set of values, to a different definition of success. And while you know that this definition will not resonate with most people, it’s okay. Because you no longer want to satisfy anyone else but God.
This is what happened to Isaiah when he came face to face with the Holy One of Israel. He had no choice but to volunteer because he was so overcome with who God was, nothing else mattered. This is still happening. All around there are people who are saying to Jesus, “I’ll do anything. Send me.”
This is what discipleship is all about. It is not about a technique. It is not about a program. It is not about trying something new because you are tired of the old. It’s about digging deeper into your relationship with Jesus because you know there is so much more to this life than what you thought. It’s about being so overcome with love for Jesus that you say “Here I am. What do you want me to do? Send me.”