Are You Willing To GO?

Is obedience to the voice of the Holy Spirit difficult for you?  Has God laid someone on your heart to witness to, but you’ve not followed through?  Are you fearful that if you totally sell out to God that you’ll have to go somewhere you don’t want to go?  These are legitimate questions and ones that the Prophet Isaiah also grappled with. Consider his example in Isaiah 6.

I had the joy of being raised in a Pastor’s home.  My Dad was in active ministry for over 50 years, leaving a legacy that money couldn’t buy.  I am so thankful for the upbringing I had. At the age of seven, I started taking piano lessons and was actually playing in church by the time I was eight.  God blessed me with musical abilities that have opened many opportunities during my lifetime. I also started singing at a young age. Church life and ministry is all I’ve ever known.

Here was my issue when I was in my early teens . . . I was scared God was going to call me to be a missionary to Africa, and I didn’t want to go to Africa!  Period. I wrestled about this in my spirit for several years. I was so unsettled. But then, God’s truth prevailed. A guest speaker my Dad had made this profound statement that changed my life - “God will never call you somewhere without first placing a burden on your heart for that ministry!”  Man, I was set free!  I didn’t want to go to Africa!  And if I would have submitted to God’s plan and will for my life years earlier, I would have already been released from that stress.  Wow!

The truth is, I didn’t want to be like Isaiah.  When Isaiah had a vision of God asking who would be willing to go preach to a rebellious, obstinate, stubborn people, he didn’t hesitate with his response.  He said in verse 9, “Here am I.  Send me!”

All God is looking for from you and me is obedience.  Just a willingness to do whatever He asks of us. Maybe it is simply witnessing to a friend.  Maybe it’s just smiling at a fellow student who doesn’t have many friends. Or, many years from now, maybe it is going as a missionary to Africa.  Who knows? Don’t focus on 10 years down the road. Focus on NOW . . . TODAY! How can I be Jesus to someone TODAY? All God wants to know is this - ARE YOU WILLING TO GO?