Sunday, June 14, 2026
“Let none hear you idly saying, ‘There is nothing I can do,’ While the multitudes are dying And the Master calls for you. Take the task He gives you gladly, Let His work your pleasure be; Answer quickly when He calleth, ‘Here am I, send me, send me!’”
The Lord of the harvest gazes at fields that are ready and waiting. The people He came to save need to hear the good news of the kingdom of God, “but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2b). The Savior calls, “Who will go and work today?” Reluctant to witness, we may answer, “There is nothing I can do.” With that response we find ourselves in equally hesitant company. Many saints answered the Lord’s call with a response that was, at least initially, like our own: “There is nothing I can do.”
Called to lead God’s people out of slavery, Moses, being slow of speech, simply replied, “Please send someone else” (Exodus 4:13b). Consecrated before birth to be a prophet, Jeremiah protested the prophetic call because of his youth and inexperience. Jonah, sent to proclaim a message of repentance in enemy territory, did not bother with excuses. He just sailed off in the other direction. The prophet Isaiah, aware of his own sin, cried out, “Woe is me!” (Isaiah 6:5b). Some New Testament believers were also reluctant harvest laborers. James and John wanted glory without suffering. On the night his Lord was arrested, Peter swore that he never knew Jesus. A believer named Ananias was reluctant to lay hands of blessing on a Pharisee named Saul, a known enemy of Jesus’ followers.
A shining exception among those reluctant servants was a young woman, Mary of Nazareth. Called to be the mother of the Messiah, Mary answered in humble trust: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your Word” (Luke 1:38b). Mary’s Son, the Son of God, humbled Himself to be born among us. Obedient to His Heavenly Father, Jesus gave Himself willingly into death for our salvation. God forgives our sins for Jesus’ sake, just as He forgave each of His reluctant but repentant saints and sent them out into the harvest fields. Still today the Lord of the harvest calls witnesses to labor in the ripening fields, bringing the Good News of salvation to the world. We may worry about our worthiness for the work before us, but the Lord prepares His workers for service. He forgives our sins and promises His abiding presence in our lives. Fueled by forgiveness and filled with the Spirit, we answer in the words of Isaiah, eager to join in the harvest work: “Here am I, send me, send me!”
WE PRAY: Forgive my sins, Lord, and send me as a witness to work in Your harvest fields. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, “Hark, the Voice of Jesus Crying,” which is number 826 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions: