Prerequisites for Being Used by God
Will You Go?
It’s easy to say “I’ll go” when the task is seemingly easy or is something enjoyable. When it’s the dream inside a heart or a hope fulfilled. I’ve always been eager to jump in, especially when it was something I really wanted.
Life is full of exciting opportunities to say “yes” to. To jump up in exclamation and shout “here I am” to. But what if the call isn’t so easy or won’t fulfill an immediate dream. What if the ask will lead you down bumpy roads and dark nights? Then, the ask isn’t so wonderful and the response as easy to make. It takes more grit, willingness and faith to step out when the call won’t be lovely.
I came to such a crossroad in my life when I was twenty years old and ready to embark on vocational ministry. I went on a missions trip to the Dominican Republic and fell in love with the people there and the work being done. A few months after my experience there I was offered an internship with the organization and excitedly jumped at the offer to serve in missions in that beautiful country for nine months.
I still had a few months until my current commitment was over and began preparing my me for His use. I was incredibly excited, to say the least. I should mention here that about two years before this time I had received the clear call to vocational ministry. Over those past two years I had discovered my passion and gift to write and teach, although I wasn’t quite sure where or how. Then I received this invitation to serve oversees and assumed missions was my path.
In that gap of receiving the invite and embarking on the journey, I was asked by my pastor’s wife if I’d be interested in interning with the children’s department for the summer. I greatly respected this woman and felt a prompting in my Spirit to pray about it, so I did.
Let me also mention here that children’s ministry didn’t exactly get me as excited as foreign missions. I had grown up with three younger brothers and spent most of the prior eight years babysitting them while my parents ran a business, so being surrounded by a bunch of kids didn’t exactly light a fire in me. Which is why I was surprised when I was pretty sure God wanted me to forgo the missions internship and serve in the children’s ministry at my church.
All to say, this wasn’t the easiest “yes” to make. But looking back, God knew exactly was He was doing (obviously!). That internship turned into a career at the church and allowed me to discover my true calling of using the gifts within me to build the local church and minister to women. That simple “yes” to do something I wasn’t initially excited about forever changed the trajectory of my life and I’m incredibly grateful God guided me along the way. As a bonus, I loved my time with those kiddos and had the opportunity to intentionally pour into a small group of children I still know today (as they embark on careers and make me feel old!)
Life will always present opportunities; sometimes those open doors will lead to a mountain top and sometimes they will lead you through a valley. Some may go in a direction you never imagined you’d take. The question you must ask yourself in this chapter is: are you willing to walk both if God asks you? Are you willing to say “yes” to God’s call to a difficult journey just as easily as an exciting one?
ISAIAH’S “HERE I AM”
Isaiah, the prophet, was one such man who could say yes to both. Not even knowing what laid ahead, he would make himself available to God’s plan.
Isaiah 6:1-8,
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train[a] of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
’Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!’
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.’
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am! Send me.”’”
Great praise is being raised to the Lord Almighty! And who gets to be there, witnessing the magnificence? None other than Isaiah.
When Isaiah realized and proclaimed his sin, the seraphim touched his lips with a burning coal from the altar of incense. It’s a portrait of the atonement extended to us in our own sinfulness. Although the purification may burn, it’s necessary. Purging sin hurts and is never easy—repentance is painful. But once our uncleanliness has been taken away, then we are made ready for service.
After Isaiah’s lips were touched and was made clean, the commission came. When Isaiah heard God ask for someone to send, Isaiah didn’t hesitate to volunteer. Honestly, he didn’t even know what he was volunteering for. He had no idea what God was planning. But it didn’t matter—Isaiah was just ready to serve. He wanted to do something on behalf of God; it didn’t matter what it was.
We know God was looking for someone to go to the nation of Judah to pronounce coming judgement. Their sins were great, but it didn’t have to be the final play. There was hope to those who connected to the Vine.
USING YOUR VOICE
Isaiah wasn’t perfect nor was he necessarily the most qualified messenger—he was simply sanctified and willing. That’s it. That’s all God is looking for in the people He uses. Let’s take a look at both and evaluate where you align?
Sanctified
John MacArthur said this about Isaiah’s call in chapter 6,
“God isn't looking for great, intellectual brilliance. He isn't looking for oratorical skill. He isn't looking for literary genius. He's not looking for the movers and the shakers and the power brokers. And He's not looking for those people that the world assumes to be the leaders of choice. What He's looking for is people who have been cleansed.”
When Isaiah stood there in the presence of holiness, he was keenly aware of his sin. He didn’t try to hide it, either. He saw his sin, the need for sanctification, and he was honest about it. There was no brushing the sin under the rug or putting on a good show. He didn’t act like he had it all together. He didn’t, like me, run away from God in my shame and allow it to keep me in bondage. No—Isaiah laid it all out there at the foot of the throne. And because he was willing to deal with it, he was cleansed and made righteous. That was one of only two things that enabled him for the ministry God was calling him to.
Let’s get really personal here, for just a moment, and talk as friends. If I was sitting down with you right now over coffee I’d ask, “Friend, how is your heart?”
Where are you struggling? What is God asking you to lay down? What sin is lingering in the shadows because you haven’t confessed it, yet? I truly believe this is the question God is wanting you to ask yourself right now. Not to make you feel condemned or guilty, but so He can cleanse you from all unrighteousness. God sent His only Son to take your sin upon himself and take the punishment so that you don’t have to. Will you receive this beautiful gift? Will you embrace His sanctification of your heart, soul and spirit?
So, how is your heart?
When you’ve embraced this vulnerability and acknowledged your unrighteousness, and confessed your sin, God will forgive you. He will make you white as snow.
As MacArthur said, God isn’t looking for the most eloquent or brilliant or capable person to go forth and make a difference in this world; He’s looking for sanctification. For those who have brought their sin to Him and been covered in the blood of Christ.
Willingness
The other characteristic we see Isaiah display in chapter 6 is willingness. He was a man who simply made himself available to what God was doing. He didn’t bring a game plan to God nor did he hide from being used. Isaiah just said, “here I am!’ and God used those three words to use Isaiah to speak to a nation.
Are you willing and available, whatever the call may be? If God comes to you, looking for someone to use, will you throw your hand up in the air with enthusiasm and say, “me!”? It could be to walk out your dream or it could be something you’d never thought you’d do. Either way, it’s God’s plan and whatever it is, you’re up!
Are you ready to move when God calls? Because God wants to use you to go reach people who are hurting. Who are broken and lost. Who are suffering and know no way out. God is asking you, friend, in this very moment: “will you go for me?” Will you step outside of everything you know or thought you knew and tell people about me? Tell people about how I transformed your life and how I want to do the same for them.
Never underestimate the power of a willing heart!
Your “here I am” of willingness—of being available—will be a conduit God uses to speak truth and hope to unbelieving people. And who knows how that will change the world?!
** This blog is an excerpt from my book, Here I Am: Responding When God Calls Your Name. Grab your copy here or wherever books are sold.
