Isaiah 6:8 KJV
[8] 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.
There was a time in the life of Isaiah that an encounter with God was necessary. There are 66 chapters in the book of Isaiah, and the events in the chapter from which the verse above was taken may not have happened chronologically, but the event marked a change in the life of Isaiah. As it was then, so is it now. Men will work, continue to work in this space called earth. Many will do great things and the world will know and celebrate them. There is nothing wrong with great popularity or applause, but these must be founded on the depth of personal conviction that God knows and accepts all that is done. It will be such a great waste of potential and grace for a life to be celebrated down here on earth, but heaven has no record of acceptable service. It is critical that I first sort out the spiritual and the personal, so that the public and the physical can also align.
For Isaiah, it is the first verse of the chapter from where the verse above is taken that lays the foundation for the rest of the chapter as well as the ministry of Isaiah. It reads: "In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple". A lot of things happened, but the most important and relevant to our reflection today is that he saw the Lord. Life will throw many things at you, and make a lot of demands on you. Life may not always be 'fair' the way you perceive or expect it to be. However, one thing that must happen is an encounter with God. You cannot make it far in life and ministry without this personal encounter. Life will happen to us at different times and stages; men may even have to die around us, and there could be personal loss too, but the one thing we all need is that experience of God.
Isaiah saw the Lord. It did not matter what else he saw or did not see in his lifetime; this is the one thing he could not forget, and it is the one thing all of us must crave for. Before I can hear clearly, I have to see clearly. Clarity of sight helps with clarity of understanding and the quickness to obey. A man who has truly seen God does not need any motivation to be available. After God had revealed hismelf to Isaiah, and cleansed him from his guilt, the only response was availability. Do not think you can do God's work by your own wisdom and strength; do not think you can hear clearly what God wants from you without a daily walk and relationship with Him. Of course, the encounter with God helps with the encounter with men. Before I dare stand before men, I had better be sure that I have stood before God and He has done a work in me. Then can I be bold to make myself ready and available for all that God has planned. God's time of favour is here.
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