In Canton, In Georiga and to the ends of the Earth. Yeah.

I'm finding that I go into default mode a lot when it comes to the bible verses I use.

Whenever I'm in a situation or I am choosing a topic to cover in youth I always try to default all the verses I already know and that I'm familiar with. And hopefully no one else will be familiar with them because that makes me really smart and spiritual, right? Right.

But I don't always step back and look at those verses in their overall context. It makes me feel silly on morning like this when I actually catch a glimpse of what God is really saying to me.

For example: Isaiah 6:8.
We know this one.
There are 136 praise song we sing in reference to it.
We've all sat through 27 Sunday school lessons about it.
And still every time we hear it we are compelled, We say, "God, send me!"

And that's what Isaiah 6:8 says:

8Then 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!"

I know I want God to send me. Every time I hear this verse I am inspired to go for God.

But rarely have I heard it explained as to what God was commissioning Isaiah to do actually do.
And what Isaiah agreed to do.

After Isaiah utters his infamous words God gives him his orders:

9 "Go and tell this people; be ever hearing, but
never understanding; be ever seeing, but
never perceiving.'

10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears, understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed"

Ouch! I do not want to be the one delivering that message. Isaiah wasn't being called to share the sunshine and butterflies of Christianity. I wonder sometimes how I would stand up to the test of not baring the good news. I wonder if I would just back off. "Oh no, God. I didn't say 'send me'... I said 'send Pete.' You know Pete. He's kinda tall, dark hair, really good at all that confrontational stuff. Yeah yeah. Send Pete."

I hope not though. I hope instead of turning and running that my reply would be like Isaiah's.

Simply this: "Lord, how long.?"

God said "jump" and Isaiah said "how high". God told him to do something and he asked how long. He wasn't questioning, complaining or reconsidering. I hope I take that into consideration next time I say, or encourage other people to say, "Here am I. Send me."

Because it's a much bigger call than we realize.

I'm going to start being more aware of the context of the scriptures I quote and comments I make. Thanks, God, for the heart check.