One by One

"I change lives one by one."

This is something I felt the Lord speaking today and something that stopped me in my tracks. Living on a planet of 6 billion people sometimes i think we think we can get away with just slipping into the crowd.

The thing is that You are the One He came for.  Braving the darkest of battles and looking death square in the face-- He said it's all worth it.  He came for the one.

He said It's worth the battle.
It's worth the suffering.
It's worth giving up the one life I have for them to find the life and healing in My name.
This is My Son or My daughter who I long to unleash my beauty and awaken to a walk with Me that will change everything, that will release hope and healing into the barren places.

What does this idea of one by one mean? This means that you are seen, you are loved, you are intricately crafted, you have a unique story to tell the world, you don't need to fit in, you have been woven together into a love story that is centered on the beauty and fire of Christ.  Comparison will only distract you from this love story. The One who holds the universe together is holding your heart and desperately longing to speak love, peace, and grace into wherever you are at in life.

You are not a number. You are not just a face in the crowd. You are the one He scaled mountains to find, the One He cries out for every single day that You would pour your heart out before Him. He so desperately wants to hear from you. Though He knows every detail of your life and your story from beginning to end He so values intimacy with you His most prized creation.

You are precious and prized in His sight. He so longs for you to know you have a place at His table.  He created you to be a son or a daughter.  He died for you to know you have a role in the grandest epic tale of beauty and perfection, the tale of a fierce battle between life and dark, the role of picking up your sword and fighting along this road for those have yet to see their worth in His sight.

A few nights ago God gave me a picture of a room full of women specifically.  Each of them were bound with ropes and different chains.  The enemy was walking around the room but before each of them was a sword.  The girls were crying and saying over and over again "I didn't know it was mine, I didn't know it was mine.." But before the enemy could reach the other side of the room, a girl had gotten free and had picked up her sword.  She began speaking out Scripture, she began singing over the room, and her sword was glowing. She knew the power of what she possessed, she knew who she was, and this was enough to shift the atmosphere. She began cutting off the chains and ropes of those around her and the words spoken through her were enough to shake and break the chains across the room. Girls began standing up one by one and taking the sword in their hand and were ready to face their battles.  The sword I believe represents the Sword of the Spirit and the power of what we have been given through Jesus and His Word. The same Spirit who raised Him out of the grave lives in us and is the power that shifts us from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Light.

I have been reading a book recently called "Girls with Swords" and the biggest emphasis has been about being awake and alert. It has been not about losing our focus to the enemy and what he's doing but to awaken.  It is to understand we have an enemy seeking to destroy us both now and what we have the potential to become in the future.  God's desire in the midst of this battle is to awaken to the beauty, the majesty, the wonder, and our First Love, Jesus.  A few months ago the words: "Let the beauty and wonder of My name awaken your heart and prepare you for the spiritual battles ahead." Intimacy and depth with Jesus is a key part of this warfare. You see, we serve a King who has already won. Our place in this battle is upon our knees, falling down behind the Warrior King we serve and letting Him fight for us. He is our strength, our courage, our perseverance in the face of adversity.

Isaiah 30:15 says, "In quietness and in trust is your strength".

Exodus 14:14 says, "The Lord will fight for you, you need only be still."

Today, know that your heart has been won by a King who is not indifferent. 
He sees, He knows, He loves you and only wants you to be you. He wants you to seek Him and to let Him unravel these lies, facades, and get rid of all the pretending.  He is so deeply interested about all the details- all the unanswered questions- all the sorrows and fears-- all the future steps only He can know right now.

Sometimes you need to set it all aside- your past, your present, your future fears and set your gaze on the One who is here and now. The One who we have access to approach boldly through the blood He shed.

"Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that I will seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple." -Psalm 27:4


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ilqi7j4sidw "Jesus, You're Beautiful"