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During my time as a student at Nyack College, I participated in the Brooklyn Gospel Team. Each Friday night, a group of students would make the trip into New York City to work with a local church and bring the gospel message to people on the streets of Brooklyn. One Friday night driving home, I stared out the window of the van. As we passed numerous apartment buildings with their lights on, I heard the Lord say, There are lost people living there—will you let me use you to share hope with people? And I said, “Yes!” I wanted to be a willing servant.
That was 43 years ago, and I have served the Lord in ministry for all the many years since. It has not always looked like what I imagined, and my husband and I have been called to some hard places, but I do not regret saying yes to the Lord.
The prophet Isaiah responded to the Lord as well. Isaiah 6:8 records the following statement, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” There was no hesitation on Isaiah’s part, even though God tells him that the message he will be bringing is not a pleasant one.
I often ask myself, “If I had known the cost of going where the Lord planned to send me, would I have said, ‘yes?’”—and I can honestly say I would. Even in the hard and discouraging times, I know that I am walking in the path God has laid out for me.
Isaiah asks the Lord, “How long?” and the Lord basically tells him, “Until the task is finished.” Most would fall away, but a remnant would remain, and in that remnant, there would be found a holy seed—a reference to the Messiah.
Sometimes in ministry, we can feel as if our message is falling on deaf ears, whether believers or non-believers. Yet, if God has called us and we have responded with “send me,” then we must trust that God is working in people’s hearts. Only one or two may respond, yet, that one person may be the one that God uses to bring in a large harvest. Don’t be discouraged with the results or the numbers. God sees the results and they are not ours to worry about. Our task is to remain faithful to the end.
Our “yes” to God may take us down some hard paths, but obedience to your call will be used by Him to further His Kingdom.
