And so it is in our spiritual journey. There are moments. These moments define who we are, who we are becoming, and who we will affect. Today, was the most glorious, awefilled moment of my life. Before we get into that, let us pause. Pause and reflect on those who have gone before us. Have you ever put yourself in their shoes? Have you ever stopped to think that Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Isaiah, Peter, Paul, etc. were humans just like you and me? They had fears. Joys. Pains and sorrows. Dreams and aspirations. They felt. They bled. Just like we do. And just as we have defining moments, so did they.
These defining moments, as far as I have experienced and seen in my life and the lives of others, are marked by an overwhelming sense of purpose, an exhilirating and inexplainable feeling of humility, and an ignited/renewed passion. But don't take my word for it.
Isaiah 6:1-8: "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!'
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: 'Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!' Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: 'Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.' And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'Can you imagine the sheer magnitude of coming face to face with Almighty God like that? How must Isaiah have felt? How would we feel? We see in the passage how he felt: unworthy, humbled, purposed, and passionate. He says, "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips." Now, if you would allow me to step out a bit, I really think that Isaiah had this on his mind: "Why me? Why would you give me this vision? I'm not worthy. I don't compare to you. You are everything, and I am nothing. But. You must be up to something. There is something greater than me going on here. God, let me be a part of it. God, choose me. I know I'm flawed and unworthy, but you have a purpose for this. I long to be a part of that. It's all I can think about. It's all I want in life. You and your purpose." This was Isaiah's defining moment. It set him on his way. We see that purpose, that humility, and that passion. "Here am I! Send me."
And we could do this for all great men of God in the Bible. Noah and his ark. Abraham and Isaac. Moses at the burning bush. Joshua standing outside the Promised Land. David and Goliath. Peter at Pentecost. Paul on the road to Damascus. Need I go on? In the words of the author of Hebrews: "And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah." Great for them. That's wonderful. But maybe, they aren't the only people God wants to use to accomplish his plan. In fact, they aren't. God is inviting us in to this. Have you had that moment yet?
I have. Today, I walked into Catalyst '09, a leadership conference for pastors and leaders of churches. And it hit me. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I walked into the room filled with 13,000 other leaders God wants to use and is using. I was about to hear (and be 20 yards away, because we had sweet floor seats) some of the greatest men and leaders of the Christian faith in the 21st century: Matt Chandler, Rob Bell, Andy Stanley, Francis Chan, Tony Dungy, and more. And all I could do was stand in silence, while people passed me on the steps down to their seats. At that moment, I was overwhelmed by humility. That God would want to use me. Me?! God, I've failed you so many times, but you're calling me? I'm not gonna lie to you. I have a strong conviction that God has called me to do something large for him. To think of the audacity of that claim is ludicrus. Look around at the 13,000 other leaders, and you want to do something huge through me? No way! Yet again, I was at that point reminded of that purpose. That purpose that I don't understand. That purpose that feels too large for me (because it is, and that's how God wants it). And that passion. That sweet, driving, all-consuming passion for his glory.
Now, I ask you. Have you felt that? Have you? My prayer is that you have. I long for that. Whether you know it or not, God has something great for you to do. He has a role for you to play. And he is asking you, "Will you give your life up for something so much greater?" My prayer is you will. God wants to use us to leave a mark. You see, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Have you surrendered your life to be all that God wants?
Life is made up of moments. Moments define lives. Have you had your defining moment? There is nothing you can do to prepare for it. To make it come faster. But be watching, be waiting. You never know when it will come, but you will know if you have missed it. Don't miss it. Please. Please don't miss it. Be on your mark.
-Trace
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