Would you say, Here am I Lord?

I'm reading a book about Isaiah, and I was struck by the hardships that this prophet faced because the people did not listen to him. When Isaiah saw the Lord his response was that he was a man of unclean lips. It struck me today when I really thought about what he meant when he said unclean lips. I thought in the past that Isaiah had recognized that what he spoke was unclean, but today when reading this, I realized that Isaiah meant something much deeper because he recognized that unclean lips are caused by an unclean heart. It's the thought that out of the mouth precedes the intent of the heart. When he saw the Lord in his glory and full of Holiness, he couldn't help but see himself for who he really was and that was an unclean man. Before God ever used Isaiah to minister to the people, he first had to show Isaiah his need for God in his own life. After this, Isaiah's response was, “Here am I Lord, send me". He didn't have to have a discussion with God about being called out like Moses and Jeremiah did. He volunteered to be a servant. God told Isaiah that his ministry would end in seeming failure but that a remnant would survive.

As I thought about this, I wondered to myself. I wonder if God put a want-ad in the paper that read, "Wanted: Servant for a hardhead bunch of people who will mock you and not listen to you. Also, to others around, you will seem like the biggest failure because what you set out to accomplish will not happen. They may accuse you of being a poor communicator and judgmental and will dislike you very much. If anyone is interested in the job, raise your hand and say, 'Here am I, Lord, send me!'"

Wow! Would you volunteer for that? In our success driven society where results are the only thing that matters, I would venture to say that very few would happily accept that position. This really made me think! I wondered to myself how many times had God told me to do something and I obeyed Him but the results were not what "I" expected, and I thought that I had failed Him. I wonder how many times we do what God says and even though it's not what we expected, it is what God intended.

I'm thankful that Isaiah did not cave into the pressure of being liked above being obedient. May we all strive to be faithful to our call from Christ whatever that call may be!