Isaiah 5/6
To The One I Love (Send Me)
© Song by Xander Stok, Project of Love.
January 2, 2025.
Isaiah 5/6 - To The One I Love (Send Me)
Isaiah 5
1. I’ll sing a ballad to the one I love,
The one I love had a vineyard,
a fine, well-placed vineyard.
2. He hoed the soil and pulled the weeds,
and planted the very best vines.
He built a lookout, built a winepress,
a vineyard to be proud of.
He looked for a vintage yield of grapes,
but for all his pains he got garbage grapes.
Isaiah 6
1. I saw the Master sitting on a throne—high, exalted!—
and the train of his robes filled the Temple.
2. Angel-seraphs hovered above him, each with six wings.
With two wings they covered their faces, with two their feet,
and with two they flew.
3. And they called back and forth one to the other,
Holy, Holy, Holy is God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
His bright glory fills the whole earth.
5. I said,
Every word I’ve ever spoken is tainted—
And the people I live with talk the same way,
I’m as good as dead!
6. Then one of the angel-seraphs flew to me.
He held a live coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
7. He touched my mouth with the coal and said,
“Look. This coal has touched your lips.
Gone your guilt,
your sins wiped out.”
8. And then I heard the voice of the Master:
“Whom shall I send?
Who will go for us?”
I spoke up,
“Here I Am.
I’ll go.
Send me!”
Words from The Message Translation (MSG)
Isaiah 6:8 'Here I Am' New Living Translation (NLT)
Send me!
That's basically what I answered God at the end of an intense year. Or year and a half.
I had just given my life to Him and the year that followed, we tackled all my addictions, one by one. And close to the end of that year, I was sure we had dealt with every one of them.
But the Spirit whispered in my head: "all of them? What about music?"
I honestly hadn't thought about that. And to be clear, He wasn't talking about my taste in music (which is impeccable btw 😉). But making music had been my crutch for almost 25 years.
You see, when I was 17, I was ready to end my life. I had a deep sense that I didn't belong here in this world.
At the last moment, I heard a voice whisper: you can choose death or is there something you've always wanted to do, but were afraid of doing?
Right then and there, I chose music. I gave myself one year to see if I had any talent.
Turned out I did.
And I pursued a career in the music business with everything I had. Music had now become my reason for living. Without it, I felt I had no purpose. I wanted to leave a legacy, so they would remember me.
Back to the story: "what about music?"
I knew He was right.
The next six months, at the end of my quiet time, I would sing worship and close up with 'Only Jesus' by the Casting Crowns. It has a line in it, that goes: I don't want to leave a legacy, I don't care if they remember me, only Jesus. Spot on, right?! 😉
It took me 6 months of singing it almost every day, before I could sing it and mean it with all my heart.
And at the end of those 6 months I gave God my music. With the words: "you can have it all. Even if it means I'll never sing another note or touch a guitar for the rest of my life. My life is yours, do with me what you will. I trust you." In other words, the words of Isaiah in Isa 6: "here I am, send me!"
A few months later, while I was reading Isaiah 12, He gave it back to me, with the words: "grab your guitar and sing what you're reading". Project of Love was born.
So, for this year, I pray you'll learn to fully trust God. And if you have things, scars, addictions, whatever, to surrender them to Him.
And to say: here I am, send me!
