Throughout my few short years in ministry there are many things that I have learned about people, families, those that are saved, and especially about those that are lost. As I began preparing for this trip (even when I didn’t even know God was preparing me for a trip like this), there was this phrase that continued to stir in my spirit and would not go away and it was the phrase, “For the One.”
Being a good christian girl who loved Jesus with all her heart, I had always believed that if I was truly going to impact people and tell others about Jesus, I needed to be “qualified.” I needed to have this story, this platform, or a certain type of degree to show that I have put in the work and I have put in the effort to know how to lead someone to Christ or to show that I am validated in my beliefs, but I am going to be honest…I didn’t and don’t need any of that. God was simply showing me that my platform is how I speak to the person he has put in front of me. Whether it is 10,000 people or a new friend that he has brought into my life, because anyone can speak eloquently and deliver a life changing message that will cause hands to be raised all across an auditorium, but what about the person that God has placed right next to you? The one who you talk with everyday in the break room? The one you pass by every day during your daily run or the one who is connected to your cubicle? The one that doesn’t go to church because they are to torn by their own guilt and shame? The one who is secretly at the end of themselves not knowing where to turn or how they are going to make it through another day? The one you know God is telling you to reach out too, but you hesitate. There’s something inside you telling you to move, telling you to speak up, but you fight against that inner voice and stay silent. Why?
Because you may not believe that you are worthy enough or qualified enough to speak up and impact their life. So, we stay silent. We mind our own business and move on with our day trying to validate why we didn’t speak up or why they wouldn’t be receptive to what we had to say or “They wouldn’t have come anyway.” But what if we were their only opportunity to hear about Christ? The only time that they were going to hear a message that was going to change their life forever and save them from the turmoil they are going through? It would be as if we had the cure for their cancer, but we kept it and saved it for ourselves.
Yes, I know that can sound a bit harsh, but this reality didn’t hit me until recently when I had been asked to pass out invitations to my church’s easter services and coming to the realization that this invitation card wasn’t just an invite. This invitation was the difference between someone possibly coming to church, hearing the message of Jesus, receiving salvation, or it being another passing holiday and them going another day not knowing the possibility of their eternity. This invitation held the power of eternity and I had been privileged with the opportunity of sharing the joy and salvation that I had received long ago with someone else.
I was listening to this incredible speaker one night and he said it this way, “God doesn’t call the qualified…He qualifies the called.”
When I hear what people have to say about me, some say I am inspirational, I am set apart, I am special, and I am going to accomplish great and mighty things for the Kingdom of God with the story He has given me to share and how I will use it to empathize with people…but to me…as I wake up each day and I look at myself in the mirror…I am simply a girl. A girl with a heart that beats for Jesus. A girl with no qualifications outside of a life that made her grow up faster than she should’ve ever had to with a psychology degree from a grand christian university, which I am going to be honest, I will probably never use. I’m just being real.
I am just a girl with a story. A girl who loves to write and is learning how to speak of all that God has done in and through my life and I am a girl with the simple desire to reach The One.
The one who is brokenhearted and grieving. The One who doesn’t know where to go or who they can turn to. The One who simply needs someone to listen. The One who just needs a shoulder to cry on. The One who is yearning for something more and that something more is Jesus. But more importantly, my heart is for The One who God has placed directly in front of me.
As I fly to Israel in just a few short months on August 23rd, I have come to the realization that I may simply fly across the world to have one conversation that is going to change one person’s life or God could use me to impact more. Either way if He has called me to simply impact one life and save one soul…it will all be worth it. All the effort, all the fundraising, and all the sweat and tears that have gone into preparing for this trip.
So, my prayer remains the same…Whether I impact many or I impact one, God knows exact who needs to hear His story of love, compassion, salvation, and healing that He has orchestrated throughout my life.
Whatever it is that He has in store, may my life be a vessel For The One…and may God do the rest!
Matthew 25:40: “‘…I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.'”
One Grand Adventure 