January 22, 2021
It has been over six months since I began this journey, this blog…this ministry of words. As I reflected over the past months of 2020, I prayed that God would show me the direction He had for me in 2021.
Within moments of my prayer leaving my lips, God whispered, “Draw close to Me and My Word.”
I thought that I was already doing that, but apparently He thought I needed to spend MORE time with Him.
Reflecting on what God had whispered to my heart, I thought about how much time the Apostles had spent with Christ before they were sent out into the world to spread the Gospel. They were with Him every day, all the time and they still had questions. They still weren’t ready. There was always more to learn from Him.
It wasn’t until they had received the Holy Spirit that they were filled with power, courage and wisdom to do what Jesus had commanded them to do.
MARK 16:15 KJV “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
MATTHEW 28:19 KJV “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
I then asked God to fill me with the Holy Spirit, to fill every nook and cranny of me, from my head to my toes, so that I would be able to do what He would ask of me in 2021.
Now, I have been filled with the Holy Spirit since 1975, but like food for our bodies, we need to feed our Spirits. We do this through prayer, reading and absorbing God’s Word like a sponge into Our Mind and Spirit and through Praise and Worship.
So, to do what God calls me to do in 2021, God has called me to go deeper into His Word and to draw closer to Him. I think that is good advice for all of us as we face the new year.
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
In my time with the Lord in prayer, He also instructed me to continue to “Feed my Sheep” but then followed with “Heal my sheep.”
He let me see that, through this Blog and this Ministry, I am doing just that.. as many of you are called to do as well.
He showed me a vision of Holy Hands being placed upon heads and hearts. He showed me that this is where Healing is needed. People need to hear with their ears and see with their eyes first and then their minds and hearts can be healed.
He showed me that by replacing old, negative, painful thoughts with new, GODLY words and teachings of Scripture is feeding and healing the minds and hearts of men and women that God places in my path.
God then showed me a vision in my spirit of thousands upon thousands, an ocean full of broken hearted, lost people crying out to Him. I was overwhelmed by the vision. There were so many.
He showed me LIFE BOATS with individuals paddling as hard as they could to reach those bobbing and treading water, but wave after wave made it harder and harder to reach them as they seemed to be paddling aimlessly.
Then there were other LIFE BOATS with large motors on the back propelling directly towards those that were drowning. He then showed me that some of those boats were sent far out in the water only to rescue one at a time, while others had many in their boat that they had saved closer to shore.
He explained that those with motors were those using the Power of the Holy Spirit, while the others boats were failing because those were being moved by men and women using their own muscles, their own power instead.
I prayed, “Please God, Let me be a boat with a motor. Fill me with your Spirit, that I may do your WILL. I am nobody, Lord. I am not a religious scholar. I don’t have a degree or a doctorate in Theology. I have no power to do anything by myself, but with your Holy Spirit I can do all things that you ask of me. I am only your instrument willing to do what You ask and to go where You send me”.
I then told God that I sometimes feel like I’m struggling against a strong current and not getting anywhere. I look at other bloggers, other people that have been called to spread His message, that have thousands of followers and I admit I am jealous of how many people they are able to reach, but then He asked me a question.
“Is not ONE PERSON, ONE SOUL worth the effort to continue no matter how strong the current may be? If ONE PERSON hears ‘MY VOICE’ through what you are doing in My Name and it changes their heart, is that not enough?”
“Are you doing this for popularity or are you doing it because I have called you to do this in My Name?”
I was humbled. I immediately saw the vision of Christ carrying the lost sheep on His shoulders. I was reminded that He had left the Ninety-nine to find the ONE that was lost and needed Him the most.
I realized that this is what He has called me to do… To feed and heal the ONE that needs to hear God’s message the most, even if only one at a time.
If only ONE person reads my blog and if that ONE person opens their heart to God’s Word and His Love, if my simple words, by the Grace of God and through the Holy Spirit, brings healing to their brokenness,
brings peace in the storms they are facing,
helps them through a valley of despair
or brings them hope when they can not face another day
then, like Christ, leaving the ninety-nine to help that ONE PERSON is what matters most .
It’s not the number of people I reach but rather if I have reached the ONE that God has called to hear His voice through my words.
So I dedicate 2021 to reaching God’s people, all of the ONE’S out of the ninety-nine that need Him the most. Our Lord commands us, just as He did His Apostles, to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel, which through this media I am able to do. What a Miracle.
I humbly call on God and His Holy Spirit to give me the strength, courage and wisdom to do what HE calls me to do, go where He wants me to go and to use me to reach the ONE’S that He has called to hear His voice through my humble words for His Glory. LORD SEND ME.
I PRAY THIS IN JESUS’ NAME. AMEN.
Imagine if we each of us serve ONE person a day, in Jesus’s Name. That’s 365 people a year. Imagine how together, we can change the World in 2021.
DO IT FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THE ONES.
Your Faithful Servant, VICTORIA
Believing Outside the Box 