Availability, Not Ability

Isaiah 6:5  Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”

Isaiah had seen the Lord, and it was almost his undoing. First he saw the seraphim. These were angels, but not the fat little naked babies you see in art. No, these were terrifying! As he saw God’s glory in the temple, Isaiah realized he was a sinner. Don’t look too harshly at him, so are you, and so am I. We’re all in this mess together!

When Isaiah was ushered into the presence of God he felt his sin like he had never felt it before. Being confronted by God will do that to you. He felt his guilt so profoundly that he was sure he would die.

But…

God had other plans. He always does. Instead of a death sentence, Isaiah was offered a chance to do something great for God.

Isaiah 6:8  Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

God didn’t ask him for a résumé, or letters of recommendation. He wasn’t looking for ability, God was looking for availability. God cleansed Isaiah’s sin, then asked Isaiah if he was ready to go. God asks us the same thing today. Are you willing to go?

You don’t have to have great abilities. You don’t have to change the whole world. You don’t have to change your whole town. You just have to be available and let God use you to change the part of the world that rubs up against you. As you show God your availability, your abilities will be made equal to God’s task.

Today’s Readings: Isaiah 6,7; 2 Chronicles. 26,27; Philemon

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