“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!’” — Isaiah 6:8, NIV

Take a moment to reflect on the following question: are you willing to let the Lord use you? For some of us, this can be a challenge. It takes courage and faith to be wiling to hand over our lives to be used by God. After all, many of us like having control over our own plans and futures.

However, through Christ, we can develop a willingness when answering God’s call. We can be like Isaiah when God spoke and respond, “Here am I. Send me!”

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” — John 10:27-28, NIV

In order to obey God, we must be listening for his voice. When we are listening, it is not likely we hear a verbal voice. Rather, we can discover God’s will for us by reading the Bible, and through prayer and fellowship with other believers. As Christians, we have the holy spirit to help us discern his voice.

Listening and hearing God’s voice doesn’t look the same in every situation. For example, perhaps after reading a passage in scripture about forgiveness, we feel called to forgive a grudge we’ve been holding against someone. Maybe, we pray about which job offer to except and feel called to go in a certain direction.

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do.” — James 1:22-25, NIV

Once we hear God, we have a choice. We can either do what he is telling us or continue on our own path. Hearing God’s word and call is wonderful; however, it does not mean much if it is not followed up by action. James 1:22 says “do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

At times, doing what God says may not be appealing. Maybe, he tells us to say “no” to something that we really want to do. Perhaps, what we need to do is outside of our comfort zone.

No matter the case, we can find hope that he will be with us along the way. He will not abandon us or challenge us with something we cannot face with his help.

Now when we recognize the voice of God, we can call out “here I am” and be ready to seize the opportunity.

Do you want to learn about the Word of God? Explore GCU’s College of Theology which offers many degree programs such as Bachelor of Arts in Christian Ministry and Master of Arts Degree in Christian Leadership.

Approved by the Local Outreach Ministry Coordinator of the Office of Spiritual Life on Nov. 14, 2022.