I’m the One!

Are you persuaded? Are you sold out? Let’s Talk!

When God gave me this title, I immediately thought of the verses in Romans chapter 8 verses 38 and 39. Those verses read, “For I am persuaded beyond doubt that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Immediately after those verses came to mind, the song “Souled Out” by Hezekiah Walker followed. I’m sure by now you catch my drift. Is there anything or anyone that could cause your surrender to God to become obsolete? Is there anything or anyone that could cause you to walk away from God? Will you be separated or will you be the one? Let’s Talk!

This past week as I headed to my first patient’s home, I turned on my worship playlist and sang to God as I frequently do. Eventually, “Respond” by Travis Greene came on, and instead of singing, I listened intently like I had never heard or sang the song before. As I listened, my heart began to cry out as he sang the lyrics, “You see all; Still You’re searching for someone who will respond… You sit high; Still You’re looking for somewhere You could abide”. I weep and began to reflect on my life for a few moments. I reflected on the many times God has utilized me to give an encouraging word to someone. I reflected on how I had spent so much time out of His will and out of alignment with Him. Surely, He had use of me even during those times, but I did not desire to be used. For a moment, just reflect on how many times you’ve felt as if you needed a word from God. Reflect on how you had prayed and felt like your prayers weren’t being heard or answered. Reflect on the times when someone contacted you “out of the blue” and spoke life into you that solidified that God had actually heard your prayers. Reflect on how you knew it was God because you hadn’t shared what you were going through or praying for with anyone else. Now imagine God desiring to use you in the same way that He used the person that spoke life into you. What or who is in the way of God using you as His vessel and abiding within your temple? For most of us, the answer is ourselves. Oftentimes, we tend to get into our own way. Just imagine proclaiming to be God’s person yet He is searching and looking for a vessel and temple. Just imagine God needing to use you to help someone, but you’re not in the right alignment to be used. Just imagine someone not getting a word from God because you could not hear His voice. Just imagine someone’s life literally being on the line, and you resisted God’s pull to intervene. Just imagine how God feels looking for a vessel and searching for a temple despite having people who proclaim to be His. Let’s get back to the lyrics. “You don’t have to search no more; I’m the one You’re looking for… When you call me, I will respond. When you pull me, I will come running to your arms. I will respond to You.” These lyrics are a standard of living for my lifestyle. I want to be so caught up in God’s presence that I am able to hear Him whisper when He desires to use me. I want to be so available that when He pokes at me I’ll be attentive to see what He desires for me to do. There is nothing that I will not do for God. I don’t care how it feels, what it looks like, where it leads me, what my mind thinks, or what I have to endure; I will forever and always ensure that I stay aligned with God as His vessel and temple.

Can you truly say that being God’s vessel and temple is the desire of your heart? Are you in the right alignment to be immediately used by God? Are you allowing external factors to stop up your ears and cloud your eyesight causing you to be unable to hear and see God? Are you engaging in conversations and a lifestyle that are pleasing to God? Do you possess the Holy Spirit for convenience purposes only? Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to be your guidance, conviction, teacher, corrector? I encourage you to make a decision to live your life as God’s vessel and allow Him to inhabit your temple. I encourage you to perform a self-evaluation on your life and lifestyle to identify anything or anyone withholding you from responding to God’s call or pull. I encourage you to be persuaded. I encourage you to be the one.

Read, dissect, and meditate on Romans 8:38 & 39, Isaiah 6:8, and 2 Timothy 1:12.