Here I Am, Lord
Isaiah 6:8
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!” (The Message)
We sing a hymn, Here I Am, Lord, by Daniel L. Schutte, that is based on this scripture. The chorus is;
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night
I will go, Lord, if you lead me
I will hold your people in my heart
It always makes me cry. It’s one of the many hymns that really hit me hard. My husband carries a tissue to church to stem the flow of my tears in case one of these hymns is on the bulletin! Why do I cry during this hymn? I am worried that God is trying to send me out and I am not listening. I have prayed about this for a long time. Recently, God has given me some answers.
God doesn’t send everyone out on “big jobs”. All of us are not going to be world shakers. I hate that! We are sent out in our everyday lives to make things better in the present. We are to share Jesus by our actions and interactions. I call this Jesus and the shopping cart. I go to Kroger, Publix, or Walmart almost every day. During my shopping. From the parking lot to the store and back I have many opportunities to show the love of Christ.
My daughter laughs and tells me if I don’t run any one over or ram their car in the parking lot I am showing Christian charity. She’s not far from wrong. Some days that is all I have to offer, but God sends us out simply to show others that we value them and to make their day a little better. Like Jesus would if he had the shopping cart. Jesus wants me to be present with the people I interact with daily. One of the ladies in the Bible study I attend told us that being present is a gift. Jesus was always present in the moment. He saw the people around him. He valued them. He wanted them to know that.
Our challenge lies in consistently embodying this love, in being a vessel of His peace and grace amidst the chaos of life. Whether I’m reaching out to a stranger at the store or comforting a friend, I strive to be the hands and feet of Jesus. And each day, I pray for the strength and courage to answer, "Here I am, Lord."
Paul Heiney
