In my personal study this morning, The Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers brings out the point that Isaiah was in the presence of God when he overheard the question asked in Isaiah 6:8, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Had Isaiah not been in the presence of God, he would never have heard this call, and we would not have the prophecies he was sent to give.

God has a plan for everyone to follow, and the only way to have access to that plan is to be where you can hear God. The best place to hear someone is to be in their presence as they speak. You may say, “Well, Shawn, I have never been in the presence of God like Isaiah.” While that may be true, you have greater access to God than Isaiah ever had. As a matter of fact, for those found in Christ Jesus, you have the Spirit of God within you (1 Corinthians 6:19; Colossians 1:27; John 14:16–17, 23; Galatians 2:20). If you are not feeling His presence as you live your life, it is your choice, not His.

Believers have the ability and access to hear from God what it is He wants from us, and the call is no different than the one Isaiah received: to go and speak the good news of Jesus (Matthew 28:18–20). We are called to share the message God has for us to share, and what greater message is there than the message of Jesus Christ?

Jesus called on His disciples to follow Him. They could not have done this had they not been where He was. And just as they had the choice to deny Jesus and follow after themselves, which happened more than once, they chose to follow Him. They answered the call just as Isaiah did: “Here I am, send me. ” God has a special job for you to follow, but the only way to hear what it is, is to be in His presence. I call on you to seek after Jesus and make yourself available to Him by listening to what it is He wants from you. Do the things that keep you close to Him as you live this life out.