April 2, 2020

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

In 2015 while serving as liturgist one Sunday, David Sutton, our pastor at the time, had me read Isaiah 6:1-8 to the congregation. I still remember the hair on the back of my neck standing up as I read, “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.’” That afternoon, puzzled by why that verse was so powerful and what message I was supposed to be getting, I read the verses over again several times, then finally it began to come into focus. You see, Isaiah found himself in the presence of the Lord in all His glory and felt humbled and woefully unworthy of being in His presence. It was only after the angel had touched his lips with the hot coal from the alter and told him his sins had been forgiven was he able to willingly and instantly answer, “Here am I; send me!”

How many times has God called us and we felt woefully inadequate to answer? Perhaps the message is that in Christ we are forgiven and capable of answering God’s call. It’s up to us to be willing to make the commitment.

Prayer:
Gracious Lord, grant us the ability to hear when you call and give us the courage and willingness to answer. In Jesus name, Amen.

Jeff Hayes

About the Contributor:
Jeff Hayes is a Sales Manager with The Verticle Group in Spartanburg and was ordained as an Elder at Nazareth Presbyterian in 2014.