Ready and Willing
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who should I send? Who will go for us?
I said: Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:8 CSB
I read a story once about a lady who dreamed of being a missionary to a foreign country. From the moment she accepted Jesus as her Savior and Lord, she wanted nothing more than to go to a foreign country to tell others about what Jesus had done in her life. She would pray and seek God earnestly for a sign that her time had come to be a missionary but day after day, it seemed as if God was quiet. She would hear stories told of other people in surrounding towns that God was calling to the mission field – but sadly, it never seemed to be her. She began to wonder if maybe He would never call her to a foreign country.
This lady’s heart challenged me as I continued to read about her request. Her plea was just like what the Prophet Isaiah said in response to God’s call in Isaiah 6:8, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who should I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me.”
Instead of being focused on earthly things and pleasures, her heart’s desire and plea was that God would send her to a lost and dying world. And her heart’s desire made me question my motives and my heart.
Do I tell God that I am available? Do I ask Him to send me to tell of the good news of Jesus?
Sweet friend, do you? I must be honest - most of the time, I don’t.
That is a sobering thought to think about, isn’t it?
So, if you are like me, what can we do to change that so that we have a heart that is ready and willing to go?
We can start with a prayer. We don’t have to beg and plead with God to send us to foreign soil – we just need to be willing to go wherever He leads. You never know – He might not send us oversees to a remote village - He might just want to use us right where we are – at the grocery store, on the job, in our neighborhoods, at the restaurant. Wherever He chooses – will we be ready and willing to go?
Heavenly Father,
Please forgive me of all the missed opportunities that I have had right in front of me to tell others about you. Give me a heart for the lost. Open my eyes to see where you want me to go. Help me to say, Here I am – send me. I want to be ready and willing to go. In Jesus name, Amen.
Dig Deeper:
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19 CSB