My Journey With Isaiah

This past year I have been studying the book of Isaiah with several of my sisters at Redeemer. I love the way Isaiah predicts the future in past tense--as if God has already done what he promises to do. Isaiah has always had a special place in my heart. Back in 2001, shortly after 9/11, God led me to Isaiah 61:1-3 and I memorized it:

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
²  to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
     and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn;
³ to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
     to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
    the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

I felt God was calling me to something, but not sure what.  This passage is about Jesus. Jesus is the one who was anointed to do all of the above things. What could that have to do with me? Everything, it turns out. Matthew 28:18-20 says this: 

 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This passage reminds me of a song I used to sing as a child. It was my favorite song, and even though I didn't know it at the time, it combines Isaiah 61 and Matthew 28--So Send I You. 

So send I you to labor unrewarded
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown
To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing
So send I you to toil for Me alone

So send I you to bind the bruised and broken
O’er wandering souls to work, to weep, to wake
To bear the burdens of a world a-weary
So send I you to suffer for My sake

So send I you to loneliness and longing
With heart a-hungering for the loved and known
Forsaking kin and kindred, friend and dear one
So send I you to know My love alone

So send I you to leave your life's ambition
To die to dear desire, self-will resign
To labor long, and love where men revile you
So send I you to lose your life in Mine

So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred
To eyes made blind because they will not see
To spend, though it be blood, to spend and spare not
So send I you to taste of Calvary

"As the Father hath sent me, so send I you."

Now it seems I have a choice--to go or not to go. Here is Isaiah's answer:  And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8)  While I would like to resist the call to suffering such as this, I find I cannot. Jesus has melted my heart and the way he has ministered to me through Redeemer Presbyterian Church has changed the course of my life. To give up my ambitions seems too small a price to pay. So my study of Isaiah has come to an end, and all I can say is  "Here I am! Send me."