Isaiah 6:8

Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

My grandson tells me “You’re old grandpa.” True enough in comparison to his tender years but in terms of my God who is the ancient of days, I am not even equal to a millisecond in time.

When I hear the voice of my Lord, do I reply or do I talk back? Ah, talking back the sure sign of the immature. Nearly every parent has heard it and knows what it sounds like. I have to ask myself how do I sound to my Lord?

I will admit my prayers have sounded like a whiney child. Things are not going as I’d like and I want God to fix it. I am not proud of that comment but it is honest. Then I remember that those prayers are not a reply. God actually has to ask something of me for me to reply.

Isaiah replies to the Lord without hesitation to an open request he was allowed to hear. Just the fact that Isaiah could hear the voice of the Lord is a tremendous blessing. Most of us go through life without hearing the voice of the Lord. We hear by faith and we would be accused of being insane to admit we heard the auditable voice of God.

Most of us discover our commission in the Word, the bible. The bible contains every command that our Lord would ever utter aloud to us. Which words speak to us by faith is a very personal matter. Doubt can arise in our minds and our instinct is to get confirmation. Where do we turn when we need a confirming word?

Not everyone we trust is gifted with the kind of discernment needed to help decipher a word of faith given to someone else. If we ask the wrong person we might find their answer shrouded in friendship. The mantle of friendship is not easily removed. We need someone who hears the Lord with greater clarity.

Here is my advice. Pray to the Lord. Ask for a confirming word without speaking to anyone. God is able to use faithful servants to deliver a word without even understanding who it is meant to reach. The trick is to place ourselves in the area where others are free to speak and share without fear of rejection.

God is patient and understands the intentions of the heart. He is more likely to answer our doubts in this manner rather than us going around seeking opinions of the masses.

Who among us has the gift of prophecy hidden in our midst?

Luke 7:18-22 English Standard Version

Messengers from John the Baptist

18 The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, 19 calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 20 And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” 21 In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them.

John the Baptist was jailed by Herod and would soon be put to death. He did not get to see all the works of Jesus. He knew his time was drawing to an end and he wanted some sign that his ministry had not been in vain. His only immediate concern was that he had done all that was asked of him.

If we look to the healing ministry of Jesus as stated above it is proof to those who received healing that Jesus did come from God. They only looked to their immediate concerns but Jesus gave them that and much more, the promise of a better life after this one was over.

Then there were those who only cared about the removal of the stranglehold Rome had over their region. They wanted to rule over the land and not answer to the oppressors. To them this was an opportunity for a power play. If they could use Jesus to get rid of Rome great, they could get rid of Him later. Sadly for them that wasn’t God’s plan.

1 John 3:17

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?

This was God’s plan for His people, to share His abiding love.

How’s that going for you? Are your needs being met? Are you sharing His love with others?