Will you go?

Today: Isaiah 5-8

What would you do if you heard God's voice...and He personally asked you to represent Him somewhere?

In today's passage, the prophet Isaiah continued to hear God's messages to His people. God was angry and hurt because the people He loved kept disregarding His Word and ignoring Him. They pursued idols and ignored justice. God wasn't happy, but He wanted His people to hear His perspective. He wanted a messenger to connect with the people. Here's how the prophet Isaiah recalled it:

And then I heard the voice of the Master:

"Whom shall I send?

Who will go for us?"

I spoke up,

"I'll go.

Send me!"

This may look like a short and simple paragraph on your computer screen and mine, but the implications behind this brief conversation are absolutely HUGE. Here are a few things I realized:

• Isaiah heard and recognized God's voice.
  
  How did that happen exactly? Here we don't read that God spoke to Isaiah from a burning bush or a donkey (that happened to other people in the Bible, though!). Isaiah heard and recognized God's voice. Was it audible? Or did he hear and recognize God's voice in his spirit?
  
  I don't know for sure in this case, but I do know that recognizing God's voice can be like recognizing the voice of a parent or best friend. You don't need to hear, "Hi--this is Mom," or even see her signature on your birthday card...you just know your mom's voice because whether it's audible or written, it's so familiar to you.
  
  How does that familiarity happen with God? I think it's from knowing what He's said before in His Word and in your life. When you know what He's said before, you get to know His heart and His character--and God's voice is always consistent with His nature.
  
• God wanted to send a person to deliver His message.
  
  I realize this fact is pretty basic, but have you ever wondered why? I mean--God is God, right? He doesn't need anything, especially imperfect people to deliver His message. God's all-powerful. Sometimes, He gets His message out through means other than people (e.g. nature, donkeys, miracles, etc.).
  
  So why did He use Isaiah? And why does He continue to use people today?
  
  I don't know for sure, but I think part of the answer is because He wants to give people an opportunity to serve and to be "in" on His purpose at work. What an awesome responsibility and honor!
  
  Another possibility? Using imperfect people to do His work allows His miraculous power to shine. When God works through people, it's like putting a toddler in the driver's seat of a Ferrari. If the toddler won the Indy 500, it would be pretty obvious to anyone that a miracle happened. Likewise, when people are used for God's purpose, it makes His power even clearer.

I started this post with a few questions, "What would you do if you heard God's voice...and He personally asked you to represent Him somewhere?" You've probably guessed that these questions are a bit of a set-up...because God has already called you and I and asked us to represent Him. You may not be called like Isaiah to speak to a nation, but you could be called to talk with your family about Jesus, to live as an example at your workplace or to share God's love with the homeless in your city.

Will you listen? Will you go? Will you speak?

Tomorrow: Isaiah 9-12