Available?

Available?

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. Isaiah 6:8 KJV

This vision came about in the year King Uzziah died. Who was this king, and why is his death mentioned? Here was a king who was 16 years when he became king, and he had a wealth of advisers, particularly Zechariah, who understood God's visions and helped train the king in the way of God. He was helped, until he became great, but when he became great, he cast off all restraints and took on work that was not his to do: a priest. When I seem to succeed, do I remember who helped me and is able to sustain me? Could it be that when Uzziah cast off restraint and became 'independent', God stopped speaking and revealing Himself? No wonder the same year that the king died was the year God's glory was revealed to Isaiah.

For all who will see God's glory in His fulness, every pride and self-sufficiency must cease. Until self dies, God cannot be revealed. I may go through the motions, get a glimpse of some display of power, or even experience God at work in people's lives, but where does that leave me? Am I content being just a valve that lets out, and not a vessel that retains the oracles of God? Am I content being a signpost pointing others to the way, while I have no desire to walk the path myself?

The king died, and the glory of God was revealed. Isaiah knew this was different, and realised he was unclean. Actually, in the light of God's glory, nothing of man is worthy. When you experience it, you know certainly that qualifications, abilities and skills do not count. Like Isaiah did, the only thing that counts here is a total surrender to the fire of purification and cleansing, so I can be a vessel that can speak the words of today's extract. 

There is no use of a person whose life has not been cleansed by the fire that comes from God's Presence. There is no way I can heed the call of a God I have not surrendered to. Sin cannot stand in the shadow of the glory of God, so if I will have a personal experience of this glory, I must run away from sin. Isaiah understood this and cried out to the only One who could cleanse. We must do the same too if we will experience the glory of God in all His fulness. It was the glory seen that made Isaiah see his own deficiencies. That is what God's glory does: reveal us to ourselves, so we see ourselves as God sees us, not as the world sees us. The world may celebrate and applaud us, but it really matters what God says. If God says we are unclean, no amount of outward celebrations or human approval will change the verdict. 

And the cleansing was done with fire. The tongs of cleansing was taken from the altar. There is nothing else that can cleanse me from sin, except the deep, penetrating flow of the blood of Jesus, the water and the fire of his Word. Every dross and dirt will be washed away, and then I can hear clearly what the message and mission is. It seems that Isaiah never heard the voice of the Lord until the cleansing had been done. And it is quite important to stress here that men may claim God has spoken, but for me, what is key is that I have submitted myself to the cleansing process, and I can hear God speak.

How do I stand before people to declare the mind of God if I have never heard his voice? What would I say and how would the words I speak convict hearts if they are not backed up by the purifying power and fire of God Himself? The assignment, the place of assignment, the scope and target of the assignment are not mine to determine; these are all God's prerogative. My one and most important contribution is my availability. Am I really available? Am I after impact on my own terms or impact as determined and rewarded by God?

At the end of it all, it won't matter what people thought or said or how they reacted to me. The only thing that would matter would be: Did I do what God wanted, when He wanted it and how He wanted it? Eternal rewards hang on my answer. His time of favour is here.