I wonder how many missionaries have been inspired by Isaiah's testimony. When God spoke to the young man asking, "Who will I send," Isaiah more than volunteered for service, he asked God to send him into action. And send him, God did. Few people have been used by God as was Isaiah.

Maybe you've also been inspired by this story, but don't consider yourself a missionary per say. Instead, you view God's call as your own and have made serving God a priority in your life. That's really the motive behind Isaiah's request. It really didn't matter where God sent him, Isaiah didn't want to disappoint God. If God was willing to make him fit, Isaiah was ready to serve - wherever God led him to go and so should we also be ready.

Are you ready? I mean, if God called you to leave where you live and go serve God somewhere else, are you prepared to go? You might think it's something you can do overnight. Countless people are preparing to leave Florida today, as the third in a series of hurricanes again threaten the southeastern state. No one is prepared to leave their stuff, but it's impossible to take everything. More than likely, much of what is left will be destroyed or scattered over the ocean like so much debris.

To leave one's home for fear of death and destruction is not pleasant, but when a believer departs to serve God, it's pure joy. Not that everything will be status quo. Even Paul told us in the eleventh chapter of 2 Corinthians, serving God sometimes means experiencing discomfort and unrecoverable loss. Still, the reward of giving up worldly comfort to serve God far outweighs living a self-serving life where the goal is to accumulate stuff. It is the highest praise to prove one's love for God by serving him without looking back.

Are you getting ready to go where God leads you? Is your life surrendered to the idea that God's calling is higher than your own? Are you ready to go somewhere that places you out your comfort zone? You can tell a lot about someone's professed love of God by judging what they're willing to give up to follow Him.

1 Developed from Read theBible Thru ( Is. 6:1-7:25 2 Co. 11:16-33 Ps. 54:1-7 Pr. 23:1-3 )
2. Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

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