Send Me – Isaiah 6

The prophet Isaiah’s description of his calling by God continues:

⁸ Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send,
And who will go for Us?”

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”  Isaiah 6:8 (NKJV)

Thus began a fifty-year ministry in service to the Lord for Isaiah.  After being singled for the rarest of gifts, a visionary glimpse of heaven, Isaiah volunteered to be sent out to change the world. 

And he did.  Isaiah recorded great and wonderful prophecies about the future of Israel and its neighbors, and of the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  In His writings, Isaiah refers to Jesus’ virgin birth, foretells of His miraculous acts, details his suffering and death, references His resurrection, and describes what life will be like on earth when Jesus returns from heaven as its eternal King.

That was a high and wonderful calling for the prophet.  Yet in his lifetime, Isaiah’s prophecies would not be well received by the people.  They did not want to hear it and would reject him.  The more Isaiah spoke God’s words, the more people closed their hearts, minds, and ears to what he had to say.

God warned Isaiah about this, right up front, at his calling.

⁹ And He said, “Go, and tell this people:

‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

¹⁰ “Make the heart of this people dull,
And their ears heavy,
And shut their eyes;
Lest they see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart,
And return and be healed.”  Isaiah 6:9-10 (NKJV)

Upon first reading this, it sounds like God wants people to close their ears and turn away from Him, so as not to receive His bountiful blessing.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  Virtually the whole Bible is about God reaching out to people, yearning for them to return His love in faith. Unfortunately, most people usually end up rejecting His overtures, ignoring Him to take full charge over the direction of their own lives, going their own way. 

This is not what the Lord wants for any us. He wants all people to come or return to Him and His generous offer of eternal life. The apostle Peter later confirmed this in his letter to the churches:

⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)

It grieves God when people reject Him with a hardened heart.  Yet, He insists on continually presenting them with the offer of life anyway.  The more He presents them with the message of grace and love, the more those who choose to reject Him become resistant in their hearts.  They would rather “play” God themselves than accept and submit to Him as the ultimate power in their lives.

At one time or another, many of us have believed that we were in control of the situations and people that surround us.  When things began to slip away, we tried all the harder to regain control.  But there comes a time when we finally realize what a false illusion that is, and that we have almost no true control over others.  Other people have their own will, and it will eventually surface to oppose our efforts. When it does, there is often a clash between what we are trying to get them to do and what they choose to do instead. It is situation that is very similar to the one between ourselves and God, as He had warned the prophet Isaiah at his calling.

God loves us and has a good plan for our lives, if we are willing to accept it.  We can fight against God’s will all we want to – He has given us that right.  But at the end of the day, our peace, serenity, and abundant blessing in life will evade us until we finally accept it and surrender to Him. The fundamental truth is that there is indeed a God, and no matter how hard we try, we are not Him.

When we gain faith and trust in the goodness of God, we can transition from an attitude of rebellion against Him to one of walking and working alongside Him. Like Isaiah, we may even arrive at the place where we desire to tell Him, “Send me!”

Reflection

Have I hardened my heart against something God is trying to do for me?

Are there any people around me who I am trying to control? 

Lord, show me if there are situations where I have shut my eyes to you or my ears to what You are saying.  Help me to surrender to Your will and to serve You. Free me if there are situations where I am trying to control others. Grant me the peace and serenity that comes from trusting You, and guide and protect us and those that we love. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Have a beautiful, blessed day in the Lord today.