Yielding to Gods Call: Isaiah

May 28, 2009 by: Roger Bain | The Bain Journal 1 Comment

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)

Isaiah chapter 6 records Isaiah’s vision of the throne room of God. He describes the train of the Lord’s robe filling the temple and the worship of the angels shouting, “Holy, Holy, Holy!” His description is detailed and there is no doubt that Isaiah was in the presence of the God. But Isaiah’s reaction to the presence of God was not necessarily one of joy, but it was one of fear and awe. Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me! For I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people of filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies! (Isaiah 6:5)”

You know that you have really been in the presence of the Lord when you’ve seen enough of Him to know that you’re not like Him. Isaiah’s first reaction to God’s presence was to humble himself. Humility is always the precursor to receiving and accomplishing the assignment that God has reserved for your life. The call of God is three fold; calling, desire, and burden. First, we must be called. What has God called you to? What do you care about? Does it line up with the message of scripture? What is it? So many people are looking to do what they see others doing instead of doing what they see the Father doing. What is the Father doing? He’s drawing all men to Jesus (John 6:44). What are you doing to draw men and women to Jesus?

Sometimes in life we know exactly what God would have us do, but because of one reason or another we ignore it. It requires a desire to do what God has called you to do. Isaiah cried out, “Lord send me!” It was a picture of his desire to be a messenger for God to His people. A burden represents when a man or woman can internalize God’s heart for people. An individual with a burden feels as God feels concerning a people that he or she is sent to. It’s the most important; without God’s heart we are just trying through our own ability. We need the love of God to love through us to reach people.

One thing that we should take to heart about this account of Isaiah’s vision is that God has a plan already in place for His people. Isaiah heard the Lord say, “Who will go for us?”, indicating that there had already been a plan in place for the individual that would be willing to go. The call of God was issued in Isaiah’s hearing, but it was up to him to accept the task. How many times have we heard the Lord’s call to do something for him, yet we’ve ignored it. Isaiah accepted the call to go to the people with God’s message.

Jesus told His disciples that His strategy for ministry was not merely thought up in His head but He told them that He was doing what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19). Jesus was giving us an example of the fact that ministry on earth is guided and directed by heavenly direction. Just as Isaiah heard the words of the Lord and then was commissioned to be a messenger to the people, we are called to stay in close relationship with the Lord while receiving His message for people. In other words, if your assignment has come from the Lord, it is unstoppable if you stay the course of it.

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