Quiet Moments: "Here I am. Send me!"
First Quiet Moments devotion of the new series, "Lessons in Waiting." Based on Isaiah 6:5–8.
“I said, ‘I am doomed! ...I am a man with unclean lips...’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, carrying a glowing coal in his hand... He touched my mouth with the coal and said, ‘Look, this has touched your lips, so your guilt is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.’ Then I heard the Lord’s voice, saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here I am. Send me!’” —Isaiah 6:5–8 (EHV, abbr.)
If we take a trip back in time, the writer of the passage above would have lived in Israel during times of increasing evil. Isaiah was a prophet, sent to warn God’s chosen people of the judgment that He would soon bring down because of their wickedness. However, Isaiah did not just prophesy about the coming Babylonian captivity; he more importantly prophesied about the coming Savior, who would reconcile humankind with God.
Sometimes we might feel the same way as Isaiah would have felt. Perhaps we feel like we are the only ones who still care about what God tells us in a society that is drifting farther and farther away from Him. We can get so frustrated with our world that is enveloped in sin and decay.
Yet, God’s call to Isaiah is the same call that goes out to us. Truth is, we are just as impure and wicked as any other human, but God is gracious. Just as the seraphim touched Isaiah’s lips with a glowing coal, God still touches us through the waters of baptism, through bread and wine (the body and blood of His Son), and through His Word and promise of forgiveness. We are forgiven not because of what we have done, but because of the saving work of Christ, who hung on the cross for our sins.
Just as the Israelites needed to hear that there was a coming Savior who would save them from their greatest need (sin), the people in our world need that very Savior, who also lovingly died for them. To us who have been made clean, God calls out, “Whom shall I send?” Regardless of our vocation, we can be witnesses of the good that God has worked in us. May our answer also be, “Here I am. Send me!” Amen.
Quiet Moments is a devotional series found in the Bethany Lutheran College student newspaper (The Scroll). This devotion is found in the first issue of The Scroll for the 2025-2026 school year. This year’s devotions follow a theme of “Lessons in Waiting: Living and Growing in our Faith” rather than following the lectionary like last year’s devotions.