Remember back in school when the teacher asked for a volunteer? Suddenly everybody found their shoes very interesting.
“Anyone? Anyone?”
Isaiah had a vision that would make anyone’s knees knock. He saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Above Him were seraphim, angels with six wings, calling out to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
The doorposts shook. The temple filled with smoke.
And Isaiah’s first reaction? “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips.”
In other words: “I’m not good enough to be here.”
Then one of the seraphim flew to Isaiah with a live coal from the altar and touched his lips: “Your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
And then Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord asking a question: “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
Isaiah didn’t look at his shoes. He said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Notice what God didn’t ask. He didn’t ask, “Who is qualified?” He didn’t ask, “Who has the right experience?” He asked, “Who will go?”
That’s a willing heart. God isn’t looking for the most qualified. He’s looking for the most willing. He took care of Isaiah’s qualifications with one coal from the altar.
The next time God asks for a volunteer, don’t look at your shoes. Raise your hand.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank-you for taking away my guilt and making me clean. Thank-you for giving me the willing heart of Isaiah, so that whenever You ask, “Whom shall I send?” I will answer, “Here am I. Send me!” In the name of Jesus, Amen.
Wikipedia: Isaiah, Book of Isaiah, Seraph
Look-It Up:
Isaiah’s vision is described in Isaiah 6:1-8.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Free Bonus:
The seraphim’s song, “Holy, holy, holy,” inspired the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty,” written by Reginald Heber.
Isaiah is quoted in the New Testament more than any other prophet. The Ethiopian official was reading Isaiah 53 when Philip ran up to his chariot (see Pray 4 Boldness).
The contemporary hymn “Here I Am, Lord,” written by Dan Schutte in 1981, is based on Isaiah 6:8.