Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (Isa. 6:8)
Acts of service are a great way to say, “I love you,” especially when the personal cost is great. Though we live in an era of boundaries, and though boundaries are generally a good thing, at times we should simply set aside our personal preferences and be willing to be inconvenienced. Love is often expressed with a willingness to do things that take us beyond ourselves in order to serve, even when we don’t feel qualified or prepared to do so. But sometimes we don’t serve because we simply don’t want to be inconvenienced.
This week’s passage contains a paradox, something that seems like a contradiction but is not. All at once, we see God described in the most awe-inspiring of terms. And yet at the same time, we hear him ask, “Who will go for us?” Surely God doesn’t need the help of any person. But he chose the help of a man: one who was so certain of his unworthiness that he was rightly struck with fear. Isaiah understood that he was unclean before God.
The same great God to whom Isaiah spoke, the same God who looked for one to “go,” is asking the same question of you and me. The Almighty God, enthroned in splendor, is still asking, “Who will go for me?” We have to decide whether we will answer, setting convenience and qualifications aside.
Express your willingness to go and serve where God leads.
Dalene (Rovenstine) Fisher is a wife, mother, and grandma. She serves as assistant provost and dean of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
© 2020 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
