BUT I AM ONLY ONE!

The power of one

You may have heard the Starfish Story. It goes like this:

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The boy replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die”.

“Son”, the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said, “I made a difference for that one!”

Change begins with you

Most of us approach life like the man in this story. When we think about all there is to do for God in this world, the mountain top seems unreachable, and it really does become a wearying headache with no relief in sight. Where to begin? How to start?

Start with the Bible and with prayer – God often begins with one: one person to be changed, one task to accomplish, one day to consider at a time. And in most every case, change begins with you, not the other person (Matthew 7:5).

You need to begin with the true base point: you and God. You will not get anywhere unless you begin by humbly relying on his strength as you reach out to others.

God is ready to use you

Too many of us feel we know God and have “been there, tried that” without seeing our actions make a difference. But God can still use you and wants to use you for His purpose of changing lives through the Gospel and through your actions.

There are so many people who need to know God’s love in their life … and if you can make a difference for just one of them, then it will be worth the effort.

 

I have heard it said, “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. What I can do, I ought to do. What I ought to do, by the grace of God, I will do.”

One godly man or woman can make a dramatic difference, even in the darkest of circumstances. Jesus put it this way:

“Ye are the salt of the earth:But if the salt have lost it’s savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth food for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.   14.  Ye are the light of the world.   A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  15.   Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  16.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16)

Our Lord is telling us that we, like salt, should make a difference in the situations we are in. Just as a little salt can either improve or worsen the flavor of something, a little influence can go a long way.

You might be the only Christian in your family . . . or the only Christian in your workplace . . . or the only Christian in your classroom . . . or the only Christian in your neighborhood. In fact, you may be trying to get out of an uncomfortable situation in which you find yourself.

But you may have been put there by the Lord to be an influence and, in a godly way, to move people in the right direction. God can do a lot with a little.

It is the power of one. Our lives can make a difference. In Ezekiel 22:30 God says, ” And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it:  but I found none”.

God is looking for that one who can make his or her mark.

You may be the only Christian whom some people will ever know. The fact is that God can do a lot with a little.

If you don’t believe me, just ask that boy who was willing to share his lunch one day and saw Jesus feed 5,000 people, plus women and children, with his little meal. Or spend some time in the Book of Exodus, where you’ll find the story of one man who lived such a godly life that, for all practical purposes, he kept two-and-a-half million people from turning to full-tilt idolatry. His name was Moses.

God is just looking for one-someone like you, someone like me. Will you be that one person?

Would you be willing to do what you can, where you are, with the influence that God has given you? Never underestimate the power of one.

 

LOOK UP, FOR JESUS IS TRULY COMING AT A MOMENT WHEN YOU THINK NOT!                 BE READY!

God bless you and your day!

Love and prayers!

Your Sister in Jesus Christ, Nella Rhea Dudley Sammons