We have been in transition. We moved to Utah at the beginning of the year. As followers of Jesus one of the most important things in seasons of transition is staying rooted in Him. Circumstances change, rhythms change, relationships change, but Jesus is constant.
Today I begin a series where I share from my own story about passages in Isaiah that have been of part of me staying rooted in Jesus. Each of the passages we will look at has impacted me in a personal way. In some of the stories we will talk about His still small voice nudging me and challenging me while I read His Word. In other stories we will see God speaking through other believers like the gifted Bible teacher Ollie Olsen, who has since gone to be with the Lord.
Dive in with me! I know you, like me, want to be a person who is “humble and of contrite heart, and who trembles at God’s word.” Is. 66:2 says God looks to/at those type of people. And that’s what we want!
Isaiah 6 is a passage that is used in missions many times. In our early years in missions there were several choruses in both English and Spanish that we sung often that declared, “Here am I, send me!” (Isaiah 6:8c) But why does Isaiah respond this way when God says, “Whom shall I send, And who will go for us?”
In 2015 I was at the One Thing conference in downtown Kansas City when God gripped my heart. I was moved profoundly and ended up on the floor bawling. God confirmed to my heart that we were to pursue adoption, even though I was 50 years old and felt completely inadequate! While I was encountering God a couple of people prayed for me. One of them prayed 15X or more for God to completely undo me and it resonated with my spirit.
Over the days ahead I asked God what “being undone” looked like. One definition I came across said, “To be completely and utterly defeated and destroyed.” Wow and ouch!! As I pondered this word in God’s presence and asked for clarity He spoke, “I want to remove everything you depend on beside Me.” By God’s grace I said, “Yes!”
And then the Holy Spirit took me to Isaiah 6. Here I learned God’s main way of “Undoing” us. And it is full of pure love. It is to draw us into His presence and reveal His glory. Then when we see Him for who He is we get perspective on who we are. Read Isaiah 6:1-8. It is a vision that Isaiah has. In it he “sees the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe fills the temple.” And in response to what Isaiah sees, he says, “Woe is me, for I am undone!”
Since that day, I’ve had an even greater hunger to see God, in the here and now. In fact I pray often, “Lord I want to see you, to get another glimpse of your glory!” This week join me in that prayer. And as we press in and see Him, we can’t help but respond, “Have your way in me, Lord! Here am I, send me!”
