Here I Am, Send Me
Scripture:
It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
The whole earth is filled with his glory!”
Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.
Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”
Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here I am. Send me.”
—Isaiah 6:1–8 (NLT)
Have you ever noticed that God tends to show up most clearly in moments of uncertainty?
When King Uzziah died, Israel lost a king who had reigned over fifty years. The nation’s future was suddenly unclear. It is in that exact moment that God pulls back the veil and shows Isaiah who is truly on the throne. High and lifted up. Robed in glory. Surrounded by seraphim whose only purpose is to cry, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!” Whatever uncertainty existed about the future of the nation, there was no uncertainty about this: God was not absent, and He was not anxious.
Isaiah’s reaction was not joy or excitement. It was terror. Seeing God’s perfect holiness instantly exposed his own sinfulness, and he cried out, “It’s all over! I am doomed…” This was not false humility. It was the only honest response a human being can have before a holy God.
“When we understand the character of God, when we grasp something of His holiness, then we begin to understand the radical character of our sin and hopelessness.” — R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God
But God’s purpose in revealing His holiness is never simply to crush us. It is to cleanse us and give us a new purpose. Notice His response to Isaiah’s raw confession: not a word of condemnation, but an immediate act of grace. A seraphim touches Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal, and his guilt is removed, his sin atoned for. What a picture of what
God has done for all of us through the far greater, once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus.
It is only after Isaiah is cleansed and standing in grace that he hears the Lord’s question: “Whom should I send? Who will go for us?” The mission flows from the mercy. Isaiah, undone by his sin but remade by grace, responds with the only words he has: “Here I am. Send me.” That answer is still available to you. You have been cleansed. You have been called. The mission is not waiting on your qualifications — it is waiting on your answer.
Reflection
- When was the last time you were truly overwhelmed by the holiness of God? What did it reveal about your own heart?
- How does knowing you have been cleansed and forgiven through Jesus change the way you see your calling and purpose?
- Where is God inviting you to be His messenger today — in your home, at work, or in your neighborhood? What might it look like to say, “Here I am. Send me?”
Prayer
Ask God to give you a clearer vision of His holiness that leads to deeper humility and awe. Thank Him for the grace that has cleansed you through Jesus and made you ready for His call. Pray for a willing heart that responds to His invitation with boldness and surrender.
Footnote ¹ R.C. Sproul, The Holiness of God (Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1985).