November 14 | Isaiah 6:8-13

terrystarr70
Nov 14
4 min read

DAILY READING

REFLECTION

WE ARE CALLED TO SERVE!

By Terry Starr

As believers in Christ, we are called to serve the Lord with a specific purpose. God bestows on each believer spiritual gifts and designs us with a personal style and passions which form us into a Servant of God. You were saved for a purpose! Are you fulfilling your purpose as part of God's kingdom?

In our scripture reading today, Isaiah is overwhelmed by the omnipotent nature of our Holy God who he sees in His glory in the temple room. As Isaiah is cleansed by the hot coal which removes his inequities, he can now also hear the mighty worship of the temple and the words of God speaking: Whom shall I send? In his humbled state of awe and wonder, Isaiah proclaims: "Send me, Lord!" Isaiah has an overwhelming love for God because he knows God saved him and cleansed him while he was not deserving.

Known as "The Great Commission" the passage describes 3 circumstances:

*Isaiah is sinful and unworthy of God's holiness

*God cleanses Isaiah because of His love for him

*Isaiah is humbled and overwhelmed by God's grace and is willing to serve Him all of his life

God tells Isaiah to be a prophet and share God's love throughout the world. God warns him that the people will reject him and will not receive his message as their hearts have become cold. BUT Isaiah is instructed to preach about God anyway.

The two important messages that come from this passage are:

*Isaiah did not ask questions of God! He did not say: What is the plan? How, when and where should I serve? God commanded him to go so Isaiah must trust that God will lead him and guide him in his service.

*God did not say: Don't waste your time because the people will not listen. God said to go and share about God in spite of the hardened hearts of the people. Isaiah's focus was to following God's command, not worrying about what people thought of him.

God also calls each one of us to serve. We, too, are part of the Great Commission.

Many of us wonder how, when and where should we serve? What is God calling me to do? When we understand that the God loves us and has forgiven us by grace, we must humbly seek to know the will of God. Our passion for serving the Lord must overwhelm our hearts. We shout: "Here I am Lord. Send me!" When we understand that God has chosen us and cleansed us from our sinful nature to share His love and the hope of Jesus with the world, we are compelled to seek God's plan for our lives. If you are not sure how God is calling you, pray for Him to reveal His purpose for you. God will lead you to your purpose and His plan for your life. God does not call the prepared. He prepares the called.

Alan and I are living proof of trusting God and finding our purpose as part of His kingdom. We have been blessed beyond measure by serving with our ministries Divine Dignity and Alpha. Both ministries are having an enormous impact on the lives of people in our area and sharing God's love and the hope of Jesus with our neighbors in need.

Do you know how God is calling you? Are you ready? Do you know your spiritual gifts? Your passions? Are you serving in the way that God is calling you to serve? When you have a true understanding that you were saved for a purpose, you will yearn to live your life for that purpose.

PRAYER

Our Holy Father,

We are blessed by your love, your grace and your mercy as saved believers in Christ. We want to know your will for our lives and we seek to serve you. Please show us your plan for our lives and our purpose in your kingdom. You have chosen us to serve you and we ask that you guide us each day in sharing your love and the hope of Christ with others. We love you, Lord, and want to serve you in everything that we do. Thank you for loving us and inviting us into your family of believers. Help us to not be deterred or frustrated by the people around us who may not know you, but help us to keep our focus on you alone. We ask all of this in the Holy name of Jesus. Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TERRY STARR

I am a longtime member of UALC, along with my husband Alan. We raised our four children here and have seven grandchildren. At God's calling, I started a non-profit named Divine Dignity, which gives free hygiene to our neighbors in need while sharing God's love. I retired as an administrator from the UA Schools after 25 years.