Why, when I came, was there no man; why, when I called, was there no one to answer? 

Isaiah 50:2, ESV

And I heard the voice of the LORD saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me."

Isaiah 6:8, ESV

These two passages pretty well sum up the difference between courage and cowardice, and therefore failure and success. Both are from the book of Isaiah, and both involve men being given a choice between doing the right thing, or simply doing nothing. 

The setting is a familiar one that has been oft repeated throughout recorded Old Testament times. God's chosen people had wandered off into sin. The sin didn't seem all that bad at first, but it metastasized into something so vile and so evil that it threatened to bring down a nation. God wanted the nation warned. He wanted the people to know the consequences for their sins and what these sins would do to not only them but to their children and grandchildren. So He called for someone to go and warn the people, but their response was not always what it should have been. 

Most people are afraid of speaking up even when it is for the right thing. Most people lack the courage to take a stand and let others know that they are doing wrong and therefore must change. Most people lack the fortitude, as well as the needed trust in God to do the right thing. So, when the time calls for them to speak, they simply say nothing. Why should they stick their neck out anyway? Let someone else take that risk! Let someone else expend that effort. 

Which brings us to the contrast we see in the passages above. Israel had sinned. They were so vile, in fact, that some of them would eventually resort to cannibalism against their own children. It seemed like an unlikely outcome to those who were being warned, but it really wasn't all that different from the sacrifice by fire that they were already doing with these little ones. So God called for a person of courage to warn them of what would happen to them if they did not cease from this wickedness. God did not want the innocent to suffer. He preferred that the people repent, but in Isaiah chapter 50 we find that He couldn't even find one person to take a bold stand and tell people that they must stop.

Not one!

On the other hand, in Isaiah 6, we read of one who did have the courage. When the call was made, this man responded. That's why this book has the title of "Isaiah", and not Tom, John or Rick. It was Isaiah who said, "Here am I! Send me." It was Isaiah who was given the same choice as the rest of Israel, but it was only he who had the courage to take the right stand. Courage is a choice, and only Isaiah made the right one.

How about us, today? Do we have the courage to stand on the right side of this choice? Do we love God enough to swallow our fears and trust Him when there are needed things to say; when there are needed warnings to give? Do we love our children enough to take the righteous stands so badly needed today that will help to avert disaster tomorrow? Or, when God calls, will we fail to respond? And if we don't, who will?

There are things that are going on in our world today that require a stand. We need to tell people that they cannot endanger the innocent anymore. We need to tell perverts that they cannot be perverted around our children. We need people who can just pick up a phone and tell their congressmen in a nice way that there are certain standards that they expect them to uphold and maintain, but absent that, they will lose their vote. We need people to tell their church leaders of their concerns when they are taking the church in a direction that is opposite of God's stated instructions. We need people who will have the courage to pray in public, when public prayer is needed. We need people who will have the courage to take a righteous stand whenever the call is made for them to do so.

How about us, do we have that kind of courage? We need to make that determination right now, for when the occasion arises that will call for your courage you will need to have already made up your mind as to whether or not you will stand up for God. Courage is a choice, and we must make the right choice, right now. Your eternity depends on it! Your children and grandchildren are counting on it! God expects it! The only question that remains then is do you have the courage?

It's something to think about, isn't it?