“Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your guilt is taken away and atonement is made for your sin.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Put yourself in Isaiah’s shoes … There is an angel approaching you with a coal in his hand from a fire so hot that he used tongs to get it out. As he stretches it towards your lips do you duck, do you run? – does it burn? However it feels, you are told that your guilt has been removed and your sin has been paid for by the grace of God … How do you respond?
The chorus of the song “I can only imagine” asks a similar question : “Will I stand in Your presence? Or to my knees will I fall? Will I sing Hallelujah? Will I be able to speak at all?”… when I hear that, I think to myself, I will definitely fall down in silence - ashamed of how undeserving I am … That sounds good on the surface, however with that response the focus is still on me. As I fall in silence my thoughts are about me and my weakness, not the power of the blood that was shed for my atonement.
But Isaiah focuses on God… when God asks for volunteers he shouts, “Here I am, send me!” Isaiah is thinking of God’s power not his own failures and lack of strength … they are irrelevant. Can I get there? Can I die so completely to myself that I don’t have to “humble brag” about my unworthiness. Can I be so sure of God’s strength that my past weakness becomes immaterial? Today I will focus on The King of Kings. I will eliminate the self-centeredness I have disguised as humility, and eagerly look for ways to boldly serve God.
Will you yell “here I am, send me”… Will you trust God - or will you sit in silence today, focused on what you can’t do?
"True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” - Rick Warren
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