Here Am I; Send Me – 2 Nephi 16:8

8 Also 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.
(2 Nephi 16:8, Isaiah 6:8)

Gratitude can motivate a willingness to serve.

In this short chapter, Isaiah experiences a range of emotions. He is awe-struck at the grandeur of God’s presence. He is mortified by an awareness of his own unworthiness to be there. He is reassured and reinvigorated as his sins are purged. Immediately after that, he hears a request for a volunteer. Without even knowing what the assignment is, he says, “Here am I; send me.”

For the rest of the chapter, he learns that he has accepted a difficult and unpleasant assignment: teaching and warning people who will harden their hearts and refuse to listen until they are carried into captivity (2 Nephi 16:9-12. Note the Savior’s clarification of this passage in Matthew 13:14-15.) But I would like to focus today on Isaiah’s desire to contribute and on what motivated his eagerness.

I wrote yesterday about how ingratitude can limit our productivity by causing us to overlook and neglect the opportunities we have. Today, I’m thinking about another advantage of gratitude: it energizes us and motivates us to do hard things.

Today, I will emulate the enthusiasm of Isaiah. When I am given opportunities to serve, I will embrace those opportunities, remembering how richly I have been blessed.