Isaiah: In 1984
“And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Isaiah 6:8-10 (ESV)
I have recently been blessed with getting re-acquainted with a Brother who some 28 years ago tried to evangelize to me and gave me my very first Bible. I wasn’t very much for receiving the Truth of God back in those days as I was running with the devil or at best one of his minions. Jorge and I were in various garage bands, “Very Metal” and both played the bass guitar. But God grabbed a hold of Jorge and shook him to the core. So much so that by the time God was finished in Jorge’s heart he was hard to recognize. He walked away from a promising career in music for his Savior.
I invited Jorge to come out for our church men’s fellowship breakfast and was blessed to introduce him to the second Brother, Mark, who tried to evangelize to me some 10 years ago. I was also very privileged to be the guy who gave the breakfast devotional while these two men sat, listened and gave their Amen when the Truth of His Word was uttered. When this was over Jorge came to our family home where for the next three hours the family living room became a consuming fire. When Jorge left I felt as if my time in the wilderness with him was not the waste that, at times, I thought it was.
As Jorge told us how God brought him unto Himself I thought of the prophet Isaiah. When we first hear of Isaiah he is serving in the court of King Uzziah. Uzziah’s reign over the two tribes in Jerusalem starts off well and he is even credited with being someone who successfully sows the ground. But the pride of life leads to being stricken with leprosy and Uzziah dies leaving Isaiah at the ready for an Old Testament version of the Great Commission. Isaiah then has a vision of the Almighty sitting on His glorious throne being worshipped by seraphim who some regard as the guardians of the holiness of the Lord and ministers of His holy purposes. “And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”(Isaiah 6:3 ESV)
What do you think went through the mind of Isaiah after his response to God’s call as God pretty much tells him that you are going to be a flop in your outward appearance? All this prophet asked was, “How long, O Lord?” God’s answer to this isn’t as encouraging as some of us may want it for ourselves. “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.” Hmm…But the striking truth to note here is that after Isaiah repents of his sin, his view of God gave him a proper view of himself. Thus helping Isaiah understand the higher calling on his life, no matter what God had planned for the nation of Israel.
Looking back on the night Jorge sat me down with the Truth of God on his lips must have been frustrating for him. He received a clear message from God, repented and went out into the world to share the Good News. I didn’t listen to him then but a 20/20 perspective on the whole matter is clear to me now. God is in the reconstruction business and sometimes that means leveling strong holds to the ground. We are called into this salvation to minster to others, even if that means telling others that an impending doom is on the horizon. It is good to note here that Jesus Christ was a carpenter and that He is always about His Father’s business. That is a good thing to hear. -- Chris Hughes is a regular Freedom Fighter contributer and a graduate of the Colony of Mercy
Compass Pointers: “Is it easy to make room in our heart? Not always. Our flesh gets in the way and urges us to choose what’s comfortable, what’s familiar, what’s easy, what’s quick. Yet if we are to delight God’s heart by coming together as His sons, we have no choice but to make room in our hearts for one another. And it will take time—probably much longer than any of us knows. There are no instant answers, no single solutions. It will take time. And yet I remember that Jesus walked slowly to the Cross. That’s the only way this thing will ever work.” Bill McCartney
Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 7:1-2; Level 2: Proverbs 7: 1-6
Anchored to the Rock: I fancy we may sometimes be deterred from small prayers by a sense of our own dignity rather than of God’s. C. S. Lewis
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