April 5th, 2022

Eager in Obedience, Joyful in Response

Isaiah 6:8 NIV

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here I am. Send me!'"

      Our obedience in the Lord is so important to our faith. If we reflect on stories of obedience throughout the Bible, we can see that God will reward those who are obedient, but also discipline those who are not. Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph, his earthly father, were obedient when God told them that they would raise the Messiah, even when his command may have seemed scary or confusing to them. Because of their obedience, they were blessed by playing the important role of bringing up our King. However, if we look at Jonah, he chose to run from God when he ordered him to preach to the people of Nineveh, and consequently, he wound up in the belly of a fish. Whether God's call on our life is big or small, subtle or crude, it is our duty as his servants to respond obediently. 

      Though we could look at many examples of obedience in the Bible, I love the eagerness and enthusiasm expressed by Isaiah in Isaiah 6 when the Lord called him in a vision. When the Lord asked, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" Isaiah proclaimed without hesitation, "Here I am! Send me!" He wanted to be that one person that God needed to prophesy to his people that destruction was on its way as the consequence of their sinful behavior and lack of repentance. He had his heart set on serving the Lord. He understood that he was placed on this earth to do just that. He wanted to play a part in furthering the Kingdom and he was excited about it! Sometimes, the call of God may be hard to answer. In the moment, it may not even make sense. However, God sees things we don't see, and he holds the key to our future in the palm of our hands. He would never ask us to do anything that would ever cause us harm. You are the only person that is capable of answering the call on your life. You were singlehandedly picked-like Isaiah-to serve God in the way of which you were called to do. That's something amazing! So, let me encourage you today to take that leap of faith and respond to the call of God in joy and excitement because you were created for this! Like Isaiah, be eager in your obedience and joyful in your response to the call of God.

Have you ever felt God calling you in a certain direction, but you were hesitant and fearful? Have you ever seen God reward or maybe even discipline you because you were or weren't obedient?