In today's first reading, Isaiah 49: 1-6, the prophet speaks of his calling, telling us that "the Lord called [him] from birth, from [his] mother's womb he gave [him his] name. He made of me," Isaiah says to us, "a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me...through whom I show my glory."
What an affirmation of being God's servant and, obviously protected by God as a prophet who would come under attack for speaking in God's name, challenging injustice and sinful ways. He would be "a sharp-edged sword,...concealed...in the shadow of [God's] arm," uprooting evil. As he carried out his mission as God's prophet and servant, God's glory would be shown through him!
The goal of his prophetic ministry was that "Jacob may be brought back to [God] and Israel gathered to [God]. There were times, Isaiah tells us, when he thought he "had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly spent [his] strength." How did he keep going when the times got rough? He says: "[M]y reward is with the Lord, my recompense is with my God." Telling himself that truth, I believe, gave him the strength he needed, especially when he wondered whether he was working "in vain, uselessly[spending] his strength."
Like Isaiah, you and I were also called from our mother's womb to be a servant of the Lord, to be someone through whom God's glory would be revealed. In challenging times, God, as He did with Isaiah, hides us
"in the shadow of his arm." When going into warfare, that is, fighting spiritual battles against Satan, God makes us " a polished arrow!" We win the spiritual battles we face on our way to eternity because God is at our side as a Warrior God, stronger than Satan. When God is with us--and He always is--Satan does not have a chance to win any battle we face as God's servants or God's prophets in this world!
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