In the book of Isaiah God asks “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” If this question came at the end of a help wanted ad it might read something like this: “Looking for someone to work long, hard hours. This person must be willing to endure persecution, ridicule and loneliness. They must be willing to travel wherever the boss sends them. They must be willing to have their family, friends, co-workers, and classmates turn their back on them. This person will work without recognition, without esteem, and without acclaim. Much of what they do will be unappreciated.” When read that way, who would be willing to answer the ad?
Yet, when God asked the question “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Isaiah said “Here I am Lord, send me!” He was willing to do whatever the Lord wanted. Like Isaiah, the early prophets, and the disciples worked without recognition, and they endured mocking and ridicule on a daily basis. They were arrested and scorned. They sought not after acclaim, but they had a desire to do the work of God. There was a price they were willing to pay.
In this generation there are many who are only answering the ad that says: “looking for person who wants the spotlight. This person must enjoy applause, and recognition. They must want to be on a pedestal and platform. They need to be unwilling to do anything that will not go noticed. They need to think they are better than everyone who does not have a title or position.” Many in this generation are unwilling to answer the call of the Lord if it requires them to work without recognition. I think of Isaiah and the early prophets and my heart breaks because they were so unconcerned with title and position, they just wanted to serve God.
I will be transparent, today was kind of a depressing day. It was payday and when I saw the amount of my check, I was a little upset. I don’t make that much money. I was upset because I spent years going to college, years working so hard to achieve that degree, and my degree is not financially paying off. I was unsettled within me because of this, so I went to my room to pray. I did not want to feel the way I was feeling. And I as I was praying, and thinking about the amount of money I get paid, I began to think of all that my job entails and the kids that I see. I thought of the young kids who live in broken homes, I thought of the kids who were neglected by family members, I thought of the kids who had no positive influence in their life, I thought of the kids who have been abused, I thought of the kids who did not feel loved, I thought of the kids who were involved in drugs or who were pregnant, the kids who are hurting etc., and my perspective changed.
I began to pray the prayer of Isaiah. I told God that I did not want to be concerned with what I am not making, but I wanted to be consumed with being that light for these children I see on a daily basis. I asked forgiveness because I had been looking at what I was not getting paid, rather than looking at what impact I was being able to make. I always prayed that I wanted God to use me, and I believe God was telling me that “my degree got me this job, and there was a reason I went through all those years of school, and although I was not getting paid that much, the difference I was making in these kids lives, was worth more.” When I answered the ad for God to use me, it did not mean that I would be making a lot of money.
It’s not about sitting on the platform, it’s not about being applauded, it’s not about having recognition, it’s not about ever having fame, it’s not about people knowing who I am, it’s not about having an abundance of money in my account, its about doing the work of God. I am willing to do His work, even if I don’t get paid very well, even if I have to work hard long hours, even if I am never applauded, even if I am never recognized. I think of the kids I see on a daily basis, and I am telling God, “here I am, send me!” This applies not just to my job, but to every aspect of my life.
I pray that we would all pray that prayer today. There is a help wanted ad, and not many are answering the call. But this “job” is so rewarding. It might mean picking up that young girl and taking her to lunch once a week, it might mean taking that young boy to play basketball every Saturday, it might mean staying after church to tutor the junior high kids, it might mean scrubbing the houses of the elderly widows in the church, it might mean volunteering at a homeless shelter, it might mean giving free music lessons to the kids who live around your church. It might mean a lot of things, and it might require us to reexamine our priorities and rexamine what we have been doing. But answering the call of God, inspite of the hard work, it is so worth it.