It is a great privilege when the Lord sets before us even one person to whom we can minister. We don’t have to do anything grand in that ministry, but only serve as we are led in even the smallest of ways. Never underestimate what God can do with small things.
Those who have traveled many steps started with one. “And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great” (Job 8:7 ESV).
The greatest ministry is always found in the smallest and most humble acts before the Father. It is when we serve in our weakness that His strength is shown. It is with whoever God places in your path that He is calling you to do ministry.
The most significant thing you can do is in doing every small thing God calls you to do. “So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do” (2 Thessalonians 1:11 NLT).
Some people think that the bigger your ministry, the more effective and valuable it is to God. They are wrong. The measure of how pleased God is with however we serve is in how He calls us to serve Him. The more obedient you are to His leading, the more effective you will live out His purpose for your life.
It doesn’t matter how high you are called but how much you walk in your calling. “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (Ephesians 4:1 NKJV).
The meaning of life, if we want to know what this is from God’s perspective, is to love God, love others, and let our life be a living sacrifice that He could use us. It may be that you will only help one person in your entire life. So be it, but you will be rewarded for all of eternity.
It’s in the small things we do that Christ wants to change us. “And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded” (Matthew 10:42 NLT).
Too many think that preaching is only when we deliver a well-crafted sermon. But it is the utterances born out of the Holy Spirit that deliver the most powerful messages if only we would let the Holy Spirit speak through us. Don’t let your own self be the limit of your messages.
God can speak through you if you let Him. “For it will not be just you speaking, but the Spirit of your heavenly Father speaking through you” (Matthew 10:20 CJB).
When you yield to God’s power, He will give you the power to do what could never be done by yourself. “Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us. By this power he can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20 GW).
A few days ago, the Lord brought these words to my mind, and I recorded them as I was driving:
When you preach to many, very few will remember anything you said. But when you preach to one, they will remember your words for a lifetime.
A few years ago, I was asked to mentor a young man. We met by phone because we lived far apart. His first words to me were that God had given him a vision that he would someday preach to thousands, tens of thousands, in stadiums that would be filled to overflowing.
You know it’s not a word of God when it feeds your pride, for that will only come from the devil.
This man I was mentoring was useless to the kingdom of God because he wanted the glory. So long as you want the glory, God won’t be able to use you to reveal His own glory.
That was all I heard. May we all be so careful not to allow pride to rule in our hearts but instead to bow down before God that Christ alone would rule in our hearts.
The higher you go with the Lord, the more you can see how far you still need to go. “Yes, God’s riches are very great! His wisdom and knowledge have no end! No one can explain what God decides. No one can understand his ways. As the Scriptures say, ‘Who can know what is on the Lord’s mind? Who is able to give him advice? Who has ever given God anything? God owes nothing to anyone.’ Yes, God made all things. And everything continues through him and for him. To God be the glory forever! Amen” (Romans 11:33-36 ERV).
Don’t you know that when you preach a message of peace or hope to someone, your words just might be the ones that soothe their soul and turn them towards their loving God? Never underestimate the power behind an encouraging word given at just the right time.
Some of our greatest accomplishments are what we encourage others to do. “We must also consider how to encourage each other to show love and to do good things” (Hebrews 10:24 NOG).
Who is that one person you need to minister to? Is it a family member, a friend, someone at work, or perhaps a neighbor? Maybe it’s that person you see for the first time, and you can feel the weight they are carrying on their soul. Be daring enough to be the person someone else desperately needs you to be.
Your ministry is to every person who crosses your path. “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT).
Think about your own life. People have told you a thousand things, and you can barely remember two of them. But the way someone has made you feel, you’ll remember that forever. Knowing this, let your speech be gentle, thinking about how it will make someone else feel.
How you make people feel is more important than anything you might teach them. “So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 CEB).
Blessings to you always,
Paul Balius
Beloved brother Paul, I must tell you that I am so very glad for your wondrous, blessed Holy Spirit ministry in my life throughout these past many months. Absolutely, the rich results are eternal to the fame and acclaim of that One Worthy Name that, anywhere and everywhere in all creation and all history, is everlastingly and infinitely above every name, the Name of our Lover God Almighty, our Savior King Christ Jesus. Such a pure privilege you are, dear friend. That you wholeheartedly live what you write so well is, by the Spirit of Truth, luminously clear to me, for which I am exceedingly grateful. Burning blessings of Jesus’ beauty in your being and intimate blessings of loving affection from His holy heart as Lord of history and King of heaven.
Thank you so much, my Brother. I am eternally blessed to of met you and to read the most anointed words that you write. You are always such a great encourager to me, and I am sure, to many others as well. May the Lord continue to use you in His service to His kingdom!
An excellent read for me, at this time, in my life.
I still have things to do, others to encourage, meals to share, notes to write…”children” & “grands” to love.
When you lose your best friend, it’s hard to regroup. Your words spoke to my soul today.
Thank you!
Susan, I think it is so wonderful for you to have the right mindset for your life and all that there is ahead for you. I think your husband would be so pleased with you that, although you miss him greatly, you still have much ahead for you with your children, grands, and more. So long as there is breath in your lungs the Lord still has a purpose for you here on earth. Others will benefit form the message you preach in the life you live.