Being the One

Day three hundred thirty-five

Busy day ahead so I thought I would take some time this morning in my prayer to get centered and focused on what is important.  The Spirit has a way of letting me know when I get off track and I think that will be helpful today.  It is nice to start the day off with some quiet and contemplation; it seems to keep things in perspective.  Focusing on Christ throughout what could possibly be a trying day seems like a great plan of attack.

Esther 3-4

"I am only one, but still I am one.  I cannot do everything, but I still can do something.  And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do, I should do, and with the help of God, I will do." ~Edward Everett Hale

In a world inhabited with billions of people it is easy to underestimate the significance of one.  It is easy to think things like: There are so many people, who have so many gifts and talents, doing so many things that are so important, who needs me?  What can I as one individual contribute to the overwhelming needs of the world, community, my church?

The truth of the matter is you are you, the only one of you in the World!  God doesn't just see things in the realm of the big picture, He is interested in the individual.  Remember the quote by St. Augustine: "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us."  He has a plan for your life.  If you let Him, He will use you wherever you are as an influence for good.

Chuck Swindol adds this insight from his book on the Life of Esther.  “When I read God’s Word, I don’t find many stories about great crusades, and city wide revivals and mass meetings where God’s attention rested on an entire country or a whole community. More often, I find individual men and women who made a difference, who set the pace or cut a wide path or stood in the gap and changed their times. From Genesis to Revelation, we see God’s hand on the lives of individuals who thought and said what was right-regardless- and as a result, history was made.”  

As we come to chapters 3-4 we are introduced to one man who was filled with great hatred (Haman), one man mourning in great grief (Mordecai), and one woman who took a great risk (Esther). The interaction of these three people gives us the opportunity to learn 8 principles of the type of person that God uses:

God uses one who stands on the word of God and is not afraid to go against the grain. 

God uses the kind of person who knows how to be patient and grow where they are planted.

God uses one that is touched deeply by the affects of sin.

God uses one that is willing to be bold to right an injustice.

God uses one who inspires others to do what God has called them to do. 

God uses one who believes that God is a promise keeper.

God uses one who knows the importance of praying and fasting.

God uses one who is willing to risk everything for the sake of God’s kingdom and His glory.

I think most people are familiar with Esther 4:14: "...and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"  Have you ever wondered if God has brought you to where you are for such a time as this?  Has God positioned you for special moments with the task of saving others?  Are you the type of person that God uses?

I believe that all of us come to that place in our life for which God has been preparing us. We all have moments where we are 'the one' that God uses in that moment.  What difference would it make in your life if you recognized those moments and realized that you were being 'the one'?" 

I think it is humbling and it drives me to improve myself so that I better fit the 8 principles talked about.  It also helps me see the importance of each and every one of us.  Each person has the opportunity to be 'the one', each person is significant, and without them the lives they affect would not be the same. There may be power in numbers, but with God there is great power in one.