Isaiah 6:8 “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!”
I was 16 when I picked up a National Geographic magazine in the dentist whilst waiting for a clean and polish in Sheffield. I had only been a Christian a matter of weeks but the article that I read in that magazine would have a bearing on the rest of my life.
It was an article of a woman called Sorrel Wilby who had walked across Tibet, it was a travel writers adventure story and I loved it. It really captured my imagination and I began to make preparations, in my head at least, to emulate this ladies great sojourn. I read books and even bought maps and began to research and make naïve preparations. I had a pull towards and a growing fascination with this area of the world - I had no idea it that it was the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit that would, in time, become a calling.
Part of this initial research was to find churches in Tibet that I could visit on my journey…only, I could not seem to find any. I asked questions made telephone calls to mission agencies and came to the shocking realisation…there were no churches! I was really perturbed, in fact, I was quite indignant.
Having been a Christian now for around eight months I remember very clearly having a conversation with God that in condensed form went a little like this, “You know God, it’s not good enough, you really need to do something about this, you need to get some people out there’. By the age of 19 I had left for Bible College. I had arrived at the firm conviction that I needed to listen and be the answer to my own prayer.
I wonder if Isaiah understood what he had agreed to when he blurted out the words, ‘Here I am Lord, send me’. He used just 5 words in response to God’s question, and 60 chapters and a whole life later, Isaiah would still be living out those words. God was looking for someone, He is always looking for someone - God found you! He called you and it was no mistake!
I have found when it comes to the calling of God, He sends whoever is listening, the closer we are to God the easier it is to hear. Someone has to go so why not you? In this season of quiet and isolation, what is it that the Holy Spirit is whispering to you?
John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit--fruit that will last--and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you”.
I felt that this article is just fo me! Thank you, Steve.