|
Part 3 of 3
Isaiah has seen God, and seen himself. He is a miserable creature, full of excuses and reasons for feeling unworthy when God shows him that He knows how to use broken people. After God restores this broken-hearted chum, it is then that God presents Isaiah with an opportunity to be used by Him.
Principle 3: God gives us hope to let us know we are useful.
“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!"
Watch the first word, “Then.” After the grief that brought him to his knees, after God revealed himself as all the things the prophet wasn’t, after he was touched, assured of his usefulness, now God asks, Who will go?
God’s perspective is much broader than ours. Notice how Isaiah was caught in his own tight radius, preoccupied by a limited view of the world. God wants him to step into the world and push past limitations.
Here are some statistics:
500 million people go to bed hungry each night. And 100 million have no family. Who are these people? – the poor, the sick, the youth, the prisoners, the elderly, the university students, the immigrant, the orphan, the oppressed, the disabled.
All who strive for a better grip on missions will end up getting a glimpse of God’s world program.
Principle 4: God expands our vision to make us evaluate our availability.
God’s perspective is so much broader than ours. He sees villages by the thousands, people by the millions, and His heart is for a world in need.
When we see life only through our narrow view, the billions in need dwindles to little more than a handful, but God wants to step into your world, push the limitations away, and expose you to a world you never thought of as important.
God likes burgers. He also likes refried beans. He speaks English. He speaks Spanish. He is black, white, brown, red.
Principle 5: God tells us the truth so we can focus our reality.
Isaiah’s decision was far too significant to be based on emotion alone. The challenge will be huge. The response will be less than exciting. The life of a prophet, after all, was not a glamorous one. But the greatest confirmation for Isaiah or any of us is being in the nucleus of God’s will.
Rev. St. Clair Mitchell is Senior Pastor of Evangel Assembly of God in Temple Hills, MD, and founder of the International Ministerial Alliance.
|
