“Here I am. Send me.”
For some of you, this might be a familiar phrase. For others reading this, this might be a new one. Either way, I want to take a few moments to dig a little deeper into what this means and what this looks like as a personal commitment of myself to God.
This exact phrase comes from Isaiah 6:8. It is Isaiah’s response to God when the Lord asks who will go and deliver a message for him. In Hebrew, Isaiah’s response is translated as “
” and as is the case with many translations, we lose a little bit of the deeper meaning when we take it out of its original language.
I want to focus on the first part of that statement. Here I am. The Hebrew word for “Here I am” is Hineni (
) (pronounced hee- nay-nee). When Isaiah says, “Here I am,” he isn’t simply acknowledging his physical presence at a certain place in the world, one which is marked by coordinates of latitude and longitude. When Isaiah says this, he is acknowledging a complete readiness and surrender of his own self to God. “Hineni” is a way of expressing to another person that you are fully listening to what they have to say and that you are ready to submit to their request. Isaiah was expressing a willingness to be obedient to whatever it was that God asked of him. And he was.
Throughout scripture we see other people respond to God in this same way. In Exodus 3, Moses responds with “Hineni” when God calls out to him from the burning bush. God then led Moses to free the Israelites from a 400-year captivity in Egypt. In Genesis 22, God speaks to Abraham and his response is the same. “Hineni.” It is after Abraham shows his willingness to be obedient to God, even when the request is something incredibly difficult, that God blesses Abraham and his family. Similarly, Samuel responds with “Hineni” when God calls him in 1 Samuel 3 and God later uses him to anoint Saul and David as Kings of Israel.
In all of these cases, this response is an offering of self and a commitment to action. It expresses a willingness to submit to the power and authority of someone else (in this case, God). These men were never promised easy journeys, but they were ready to commit to following wherever God wanted to lead them.
When we look closely at the scripture, we see that these men didn’t even fully know what they were saying “Here I am” to when they said it, but they were resolute in each of their decisions to follow God and that’s what I want for myself too. I don’t want to half-heartedly commit to following God. I want to be fully present in my obedience to him. That’s a big part of what next year is for me. That’s a big part of what I feel a lot of my life has and will continue to look like. Saying “yes” to whatever it is that the Lord calls me to – whether that is an 11-month long mission trip across the globe or saying yes to a job or getting to know and love the people right here at home. I might not rescue a people group from hundreds of years of captivity or anoint a king, but I might get to make a difference in the life of one person and that would be worth it. Whatever it is that God has for me, I want to be committed to obedience to Him. I want to experience the joy and fullness that comes from a life spent fully committed to God.
So Hineni, Lord. Send me.
I’m selling t-shirts as an additional fundraiser for my mission trip (pictures below)! Written on the front is (“Here I am. Send me.”) For me, it serves as a reminder of the commitment I want to have to God and the sort of way I want to live my life. Where do you feel God calling you to say Hineni?
Interested in purchasing a t-shirt and supporting where the Lord has called me?
T-shirts are $25. These are Comfort Colors!!! (Which means extra cozy!!)
If you live in the Lynchburg area, I can deliver shirts to you, otherwise message me your shipping address and I’ll get it to you.
Click the link below to order a shirt or send me a message and let me know what you want!
You can pay using the link below or through venmo (SierraFoster3).
https://form.jotform.com/202327606857156
**I will be taking preorders from now until September 8th and then will place one bulk order!**
