the naked years

I got this email today from a certain lady-friend and thought I would share it with you all. I hope she doesnt get too mad at me.

so i have been reading through Isaiah and listening to it on the long
car rides between work, school and LA. i came across chap. 20. (this
is the part where you go and read the chapter so that i can talk about
it.............the whole chapter..... don't read on until you're
done........................)
so verse 2 is pretty straight forward, God tells Isaiah what to do: go
around naked. then in v. 3 God says that just as Isaiah has gone
around for 3 years naked, so will the captives of Egypt and Cush be
led away. 3 years? Isaiah's "prophectic duty" was to walk around for 3
#*?!% YEARS naked? just to make a statement about a country? now i
realize that we are not told if he did anything else during that time,
maybe he had some other wonderful, fruitful ministry on the side
during that time (some sort of jewish nudist colony perhaps?) and
maybe God consoled him and explained that this job was vital to the
work being done and people would read about it thousands of years
later..... but i doubt it. i bet God just said what it says in v. 2
and Isaiah just obeyed.
i was thinking the other day about what i am doing now, how
discontent i am, how i would rather be doing anything else.... wishing
i was where i was a year ago... but then i remembered that i had
thought the same thing a year ago. i was not sure what to do since i
was out of school, i had 2 silly jobs, and though i loved working with
the students and the church, i did not feel very effective since i was
so busy and lived too far to have people just come hang out.
basically, i am a very discontent person, i want to know what is going
to happen and when (and i want the "when" to be now). yet God deemed
it important enough for His glory to have Isaiah run around with no
clothes for quite sometime. i don't know what God has for me.... i
cannot be trying to strive for some "magnum opus" in life. one great
point, one great year, one great ministry. it can't be about that, it
has to be about His glory and my obedience. maybe this year and last
year and next year (or longer) are my "naked years" years in which i
just have to obey, maybe doing something i don't think is important,
maybe something embarrassing, or what i think is just a wasted time of
3 years. pray that i am content to obey.


Keep pressing on
jrf