Here I Am...Send Me!
by Dan Jones, M.D.
Isaiah 6:1-4,8
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
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!"
Perhaps you have responded to God's call in your life to service with these words: "Here am I. Send me." He wants us to respond like this to His call. But these well-known words in Isaiah 6 are preceded by words that outline for us what I believe are three important prerequisites for completely responding to that question "Whom shall I send?"
The first prerequisite to fully responding "Here am I. Send me." is recognizing that God is Holy. Before Isaiah responded that he would be used by God, he had a vision of God sitting on the throne in the temple. God's robe completely filled the temple, and heavenly beings cried "Holy, Holy, Holy."
I must confess that service is much more comfortable for me in my Christian walk than worship and praise. I don't sing well, and often view much of my worship experience as a necessary prelude to the sermon. Many times, I don't put the kind of preparation and effort into worship that would be necessary for a more fulfilling experience. But, before God called Isaiah to service, He gave him a vision of His holiness and asked Isaiah to focus on God's holiness.
In my life of service, I often get ahead of God in His timing and purpose. I get caught up in the daily grind of "helping people" and often fail to recognize or acknowledge that I am doing what I am doing first, because God loves me, and because I love God. God is Holy and He is the reason we do all we do - at least that should be our reason.
Lord, help me to stop each day and recognize that You are Holy and You are the reason we are called to a life of service.
Dan Jones, M.D., MACP, FAHA, a board-certified Internist, a former medical missionary to Korea, professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Chancellor of the University of Mississippi until 2015. Dr. Dan Jones is a member of CMDA.
Dr. Jones welcomes any comments or questions about what he has written and can be reached at - djones@umc.edu
Rounds with the Master, Spiritual Pearls from the Great Physician Devotionals are released every Monday and Thursday.
Photo by Natalie Grainger on Unsplash
