One of the most captivating individual calls in all of the Scripture is Isaiah. Although Isaiah already began revealing prophecies God has given him (chapters 1-5), he now inserts the story of God’s call in his life.
For me this is one of the most compelling chapters in the whole of the Bible. The imagery, the simplicity, the total surrender by Isaiah and the difficulty of his particular call, speak to me every time I read it.
Isaiah’s response, “Here I am, send me!” grips me every time.
O, Lord, I long to have that kind of absolute surrender to You that Isaiah had.
Isaiah knows nothing of the particulars, only that God has called him. There is no bartering, no fleece, not even any questions… just obedience, plain and simple. “Here I am, send me!”
This morning I found myself attentive to what comes after Isaiah’s response. Isaiah asks, “For how long, O Lord? And God answers, ‘until the cities are destroyed and the inhabitants scattered.’
Isaiah has a difficult call, he will prophet a people in decline. Continued unfaithfulness will eventually reap God’s judgment and Isaiah is called to be the spokesperson for God during these years of decline and disobedience. Isaiah knows from the start that the people will not listen. In spite of this, Isaiah executes his call faithfully from start to finish.
O, Lord, I ask for the faith of Isaiah. Faith that immediately says, ‘Yes, when …
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