"Going"

They ask me where I’m going,

And it’s always to somewhere,

On the way to get some hay,

Or buy more feed with care.

Or I’m ‘bout to get some medicine,

To doctor that sick calf,

Pitch my rope, and give some hope,

If he gets well I’ll laugh.

Or I’ve got to get my truck fixed,

Or gone to buy a tire,

Or panels load, the ones they showed,

When I got that cowboy hire.

I’m going to the mail box,

It’s all the way to town,

Expecting mail, and without fail,

Some never let me down.

I’m going to see that old man,

Who rides his horse no more,

We sit and talk, can hardly walk,

With me to the door.

I’m going to the church house,

A cowboy church at that,

We’ll sing and pray, and always stay,

Near the place we sat,

So we can greet the people,

And say hi to our friends,

The Spirit’s sweet and hard to beat,

His grace to us extends.

And, yes, I’m always going,

Sometimes to lead and preach,

Or horseback time, it ain’t no crime,

To use the time to reach,

People who need Jesus,

Don’t know what they don’t know,

Stand and tell, and without fail,

Make sure that we go.

But I will tell you this, my friend,

The time may come one day,

I can’t go, or go real slow,

And all I have to say,

Is soon I’ll then be going,

To those pastures in the sky,

I’m ready, see, for what will be,

When it comes time to die.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Her am I. Send me.!’” (Isaiah 6:8, NAS)

In Isaiah’ great vision in the temple he heard the voice of the Lord ask a question: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” The question is eternal. That’s because God is in the sending business and has always been. If you have never heard the Lord ask this question you are not listening attentively. That’s because He’s always asking it. Jesus told His disciples that He was sending them the same way the Father had sent Him. You do not have to be in a crowd to hear the Lord say it. In fact you might find yourself all alone in a wilderness place. Wherever we are we should learn to be attentive. God is constantly sending. Will you answer like Isaiah and say, “Here am I. Send me!”

Lord, send us, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Herman Walker, used by permission. Thanks, Herman, and God bless you.