Having seven cats at home, I will be honest that I and my husband have two favorites among them as they are the sweetest and most behaved among the seven cats. Yet, every time one would get lost, we’d go running after that cat in the neighborhood just to bring him back home with us. Our cats wouldn’t be complete if one went missing. Though two are closest to us, all seven cats are dear to our hearts.
I am suddenly reminded of the Parable of the Lost Sheep in Matthew chapter 18, verses 12-14. The thought about Jesus as our Shepherd leaving the ninety-nine sheep for the one who got lost, I can’t help but be amazed by such passionate love, so confident in the Father that the ninety-nine would be fine as He chased to find the one who strayed away.
I know we were that “one” at some point in our lives and aren’t we all deeply grateful that He came to find and rescue us in the deepest pit and darkest places because we mattered to Him.
Now, I am suddenly thinking about so many “ones” that came into my life that really made a life-changing impact.
One life-changing email.
When I gave my life to Jesus, I was unemployed at that time and remained unemployed for about 5 years. It was in those years that I took advantage of my situation to focus on getting to know the Lord, spending more time in His Word, and getting into fellowship, conferences and ministry full-time.
And around the time I was transitioning to a new season of my life in the 5th year where everything was painful and messy, I received a seemingly random job listing email at just the right time that changed the course of my life. It was a job offer from a Christian company along with compensation, and it said to take the test if I wanted to apply.
For the first time in my life, I felt God opening a new door to a vast horizon, like a lost princess about to enter the palace for the first time. So, I took the exam.
The funny thing was I did not pass the test because that wasn’t actually God’s goal.
His goal was to make me realize what I wanted to do with my life, what my real value is, and what it means to be a child of God. And I am thankful for that eye-opener email that was just a job offer that passed by but wasn’t really meant for me.
Sometimes, God will use one particular thing, person, event, place, etc, that can impact us entirely. It may not be according to how we imagined it to be, but He is always faithful to fulfill His will and purpose for it in our lives as long as we don’t give up faith and hope in Christ.
One in a billion.
Following that one email came another person whom I hadn’t met and known until he opened the horizon of writing opportunity for the Lord. I wouldn’t be writing here, and you wouldn’t be reading this if this person, who recently went to be with the Lord, did not come by my life.
I am forever thankful to God for the life of Dr. Mark Tronson, a passionate man of God who, out of all the billion websites and billion people on the planet, I divinely stumbled upon and crossed paths with even just through the internet.
I am amazed how God can put people in your life purposefully and fearfully planned. He places one person not randomly but infused with Alpha-Omega wisdom so that His purpose and will can come to pass.
And for all those who are married, isn’t it amazing that out of all the billions of people, you find the one meant to be with you for the rest of your life? I still get amazed by that thought whenever I look at my husband and appreciate everything the Lord has done in our lives.
And again, things weren’t exactly how I imagined them to be, but they all happened just the way God wanted them to be.
I believe that every single person we meet in this life has a purpose. They are either a blessing or a lesson. Either way, we have every reason to be grateful to God for them.
One is important.
God is into every detail of our lives. Jesus said that the Father knows the number of our hairs (Matthew chapter 10 verse 30). Every tear that falls down our eyes He keeps (Psalm chapter 56 verse 8).
If Jesus left the ninety-nine for the one, He’d go find that one missing piece in a billion pieces shattered heart.
Whatever that one thing is in your mind, whether it is a dream, a desire, a vision, a goal, a worry, a problem, a heartache, or fear, if it matters to you, it surely matters to God, and He doesn’t miss a single detail.
It’s because every ONE is important to God.
What is that one thing that you have been thinking about? Yes, it matters to the Father because YOU matter to Him. He is willing, He is doing it, and He is making a way.
He will come at just the right time just as He came to rescue the one, leaving the ninety-nine at just the right time. Have faith in Him who is faithful.
Lovely Lao is a Sunday school teacher and is involved in children’s ministry at a local church. She is a passionate lover of God and people, especially children. Jesus is her ultimate joy and excitement in life and she is hungry to know and learn more about him. She is also married to a youth pastor who is a man after God’s heart.
Lovely Lao’s previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/lovely-salcedo.html