Isaiah 49:1-7 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 49:1-7 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 49Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother's womb he named me. Verse 2He 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. Verse 3And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." Verse 4But I said, "I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God." Verse 5And now the Lord says, who formed me in 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 sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength- Verse 6he says, "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
Verse 7Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers, "Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."
Devotion
The prophet spoke with awe about the servant of the Lord’s vocation, “The LORD called me before I was born …” We can share that awe at our own vocations. Whether baptized as an infant with no marks of dependability or as a youth or adult with many limits and marks of failure, each of us is amazingly called.
Isaiah acknowledged that the awesome call had not led to awesome service: “I have labored in vain.” We share that knowledge of failure and inadequacy. Each of us knows the places of emptiness, of falling short.
In response to failure and confession, God speaks an expanding promise. The descendents of Jacob would not only exercise their calling as light to one another but to the world. On this Monday, we also can walk awe-struck, knowing that every moment and place of the coming week will be a venue for the gracious acts of God, through us. We are amazingly called.
Prayer
Gracious God, we thank you for our callings to service in all aspects of life. Forgive our failings and empower us through thankfulness. Amen.