Doing the Dirty Work

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

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 5-6; Ephesians 1

This passage is crazy to me when it is read in context. Here is God asking someone to volunteer to do a task for Him and Isaiah steps up. But the cold part about it is that the task is not so nice and will most likely make him an enemy of powerful people. Sure he loved God but I’m not so sure that he desired to do the task. Nevertheless he did it anyway.

One thing that I am learning is that the purpose we have for our lives is filled with all kinds of various activities.
Perhaps the end result that we want to see is a glorious one, but what about all of the points between A and Z? Odds are that path is filled with hard work and perseverance.

I observed a friend of mine go through the process of trying to land acting roles. She had to land good agents and managers. She had to make sure that she ate right and exercised so that she would be in peak physical condition. She had to memorize lines for multiple auditions per day for several months (often times having less than a day to do so) and she had to go into those auditions with supreme confidence all the while knowing that the odds of landing any given big part are not in any one person’s favor.

But she has decided to walk this path because she knows deep down inside that this is part of the purpose for her life. All of the hard work and perseverance will be more than worth it when she is on set playing a role that she can be proud of.

The bigger the dream, the more uncertain the path may seem. But don’t be discouraged. If you believe that the purpose you are setting out toward is inspired by God then put 100% of your energy into it. Attack the challenges with eagerness and enthusiasm. Try to weather the storms of setbacks and discouragement with joyful grace knowing that you are fighting the good fight. Do all that you can to get where you need to be as long as what is asked of you does not run contrary to your values.

God given purposes do not require us to act contrary to our values and beliefs.

If we can stand up and courageously tackle the hard tasks ahead of us then in no time we will have reached the destination that we saw in the distance of our imaginations.

Stand up, have courage, and go for it! Do not quit.