Too Small a Thing

Listen to me, O coastlands, and hearken, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." But I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God." And now the Lord says, who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength -- he says: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you. (Isaiah 49:1-7 RSV)

God gave Isaiah great gifts and graces, and Isaiah used them obediently and faithfully, under God's direction. But guess what? God was not done with him! In fact, He hadn't even started working in Isaiah the "real" plan He had for him. He told Isaiah, "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." In my NIV translation it says, "It is too small a thing"

Do you realize what Isaiah did for God!? Are you aware of how he dedicated his life to obediently carry out every one of God's instructions? Of course, Isaiah doesn't hesitate to protest in these verses, reminding God of his hard work! Had it been me, I would have said, "Excuse me?!" or "Say what?!" or "Are you kidding me?"

All of us are called by God just as Isaiah was. God contemplated each of us eons ago! He waited until an exact moment in history for us to be born. And presently, He uses every joy and hurt, celebration and sorrow in our lives to mold us for His purpose. We are, after all, made to glorify Him. God tells Isaiah that it's not enough to simply live a holy, righteous life. It's not enough to obey God up to a point, expecting to be released from further obligation because we're tired, because we feel we have failed at our task, or because no one seems to notice or care what we've done.

God wants more. And He offers more. He understands that we're tired. He knows when we've labored long and hard for His kingdom. He recognizes that we sometimes feel defeated. He realizes that as humans we have a limited capacity. But He reminds us that He knows us better then we know ourselves; that we are up to the task of doing one thing more; or two things more; or a hundred things more--if that's is His plan. He wants us to let Him decide when we've had enough, when we've done enough.

There are so many times I have felt like an utter failure. There have been times I've thought, I just don't have it in my anymore. I can't keep it up. My prayers seem to be of no avail. My obedience seems to be inconsequential in the big scheme of things. But God wants us to recognize that if we do His work, nothing is in vain, wasted, or a failure. If we live to glorify God, we can be assured we have lived well.

The world doesn't always listen when we attempt to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. People don't want to change. The wealthy don't want to give up power. The poor are so beaten down they really can't see the light of day, let alone the love of Christ in their lives.

Like Isaiah, we are to consider our role as disciples as foremost in our lives. When we do it right and do it well, we will be tired. We will feel as if we have failed sometimes. We will probably question God's intention for us to give one thing more. But we must persevere, because in return for our obedience, as a reward for our best efforts, God promises us eternal life with Him. This gift is not a result of our works; not because of our efforts, ideas, or attempts to live out God's purpose for our lives. No, those things are in response to and out of gratitude for the freely-given gift of grace won for us on the Cross.

We are God's Wonder Women, created and called to be lights in the world, no matter how tired, how lonely or how defeated we may feel sometimes. We know we are never alone. And we have a future and a promise beyond anything we could ever hope for or imagine!