October 3 — Here Am I. Send Me!

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”

— Isaiah 6:8

 
 
There are moments when God places an opportunity before us and waits for our response. Sometimes the opportunity is unmistakable. At other times, it comes quietly through a need we notice, a person we encounter, or a gentle conviction that there is something we should do. The question is not always whether God can use us. The question is whether we are willing to be used. Isaiah’s response, “Here am I. Send me!” is one of the most memorable declarations of willingness in Scripture. But it becomes even more meaningful when we remember what happened before he spoke those words. Isaiah had experienced an overwhelming vision of God’s holiness. Confronted by the majesty of the Lord, he became painfully aware of his own sinfulness and cried out, “Woe is me!” Yet God did not leave Isaiah in guilt and shame. His sin was atoned for, and his guilt was taken away. Only then did Isaiah hear the Lord asking, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” Isaiah’s willingness to serve came after he had experienced the grace of God. That order matters for us as well. God does not call us to serve in order to prove that we are worthy of His love. We respond because we have already experienced His grace. We have been forgiven, welcomed, and loved. Service becomes our grateful response to the God who has first given Himself to us.
 
Pause and reflect: If God placed an unexpected opportunity to serve before me today, how willing would I be to respond? It is easy to say, “Here am I,” when the assignment fits comfortably into our plans. It can be more difficult when serving requires our time, changes our schedule, stretches our abilities, or leads us somewhere unfamiliar. Isaiah did not know everything that would follow when he volunteered. He simply made himself available. There is an important lesson in that. Sometimes we hesitate to serve because we do not feel sufficiently prepared. We may think someone else is more qualified, more knowledgeable, more experienced, or more gifted. Certainly, wisdom sometimes requires preparation. But God has always worked through imperfect people who were willing to trust Him. Moses felt inadequate. Jeremiah thought he was too young. Gideon considered himself insignificant. The disciples were ordinary people from ordinary backgrounds. Again and again, Scripture reminds us that God’s ability to work through someone does not depend entirely upon that person’s abilities. God can equip those who make themselves available to Him.
 
Our own opportunities to say, “Here am I,” may look very different from Isaiah’s prophetic calling. Most will probably be much quieter. God may call us to encourage someone who is discouraged, welcome someone who feels alone, speak up for someone being overlooked, volunteer for a needed task, give generously, offer forgiveness, teach a child, visit someone who is sick, or simply sit beside someone who is grieving. The calling may not come with a dramatic vision or an audible voice. Sometimes it simply appears as a need standing in front of us. Perhaps one of the most useful prayers we can offer at the beginning of each day is also one of the simplest: “Lord, here I am. Use me today.”
That prayer does not require us to know beforehand what the day will bring. It simply places our lives at God’s disposal. Our time becomes His. Our abilities become His. Our words become His. Our hands become His instruments of compassion and service. Then we pay attention. We listen. We watch. And when an opportunity comes, we remember Isaiah’s response. “Here am I. Send me!” A willing heart may be one of the greatest gifts we can offer God.
 

Heavenly Father,
 
Thank You for Your grace that forgives me, restores me, and invites me to participate in Your work. I am grateful that You can use ordinary people to accomplish Your purposes.
 
Give me a willing heart. When You place opportunities to serve before me, help me not to turn away because I feel too busy, inadequate, or uncertain. Give me wisdom to recognize Your leading and courage to respond faithfully.
 
Today I offer myself to You—my time, my abilities, my words, my hands, and my heart. Wherever You can use me to bring encouragement, compassion, justice, mercy, or love into another person’s life, help me to respond, “Here am I. Send me!”
 
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

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