“It is too small a
thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back
those of Israel I have kept. I will also
make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends
to the earth.”
Isaiah 49:6
It sometimes amazes me to think of how
big our God is.
I know that He wants to use me, to work
through me, and perhaps sometimes I allow that to limit Him. If God were to work through me, then maybe
God can be no bigger than me. When God
works through you, maybe He is limited to how big you are.
But then this verse changes that. God is speaking to Isaiah, and in verse 5, it
says, “And now the Lord says – He who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself…” Isaiah knew God formed him in the womb, he
was destined since birth, he was born for this – to bring the nation of Israel
back to God.
To me, that sounds like a big
thing. How can just one man turn an
entire nation? I’m sure Isaiah thought
it to be a big thing. But then, here in
verse 6, we see what God thinks. “It is too small a thing…” God wasn’t limited by Isaiah.
It wasn’t enough for Isaiah to be God’s
servant. It’s wasn’t enough to bring
back the entire tribe of Jacob. It wasn’t
even enough restore the entire nation of Israel. God was way bigger and way more powerful than
Isaiah. And for God, the entire world
was always the plan. That through
Isaiah, Israel would become a light for the Gentiles, that salvation might come
to the ends of the earth.
As Christian’s today, we have a similar
mission, to go and “make disciples of all nations, baptizing tem in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). To be Jesus’ “witnesses in Jerusalem, and all
in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Before you start thinking that’s too
big a thing, remember Isaiah. And remember
how big God is. And remember that God is
not limited by you. Rather, through you,
He can do amazingly big things.
