The power of one

Personal photo: I took this photo of an arctic tern in Canada, and I love how the light hits its fanned feathers. One moment later and I would've missed the shot!

This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of Sonshine Lane! Thank you all so incredibly much for joining me along in this journey, for learning about my life and reading the ways that God has touched my heart. I hope you have enjoyed the first year together and will continue to support and follow along for many years to come. When I embarked on this adventure, I had no idea I would be able to keep up with an article every week, go through so many changes in a year, find a community of supportive individuals that help and inspire me to continue writing, even on weeks when I struggle to find the words, and so much more. Because of the mile marker that one year is, I find it only fitting to consider the power of one.

One is such a small number, a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of people you meet, the years that most of us spend on earth, and more, and yet the power of one person, one encounter, one year, one day, one time, can be staggering. I could probably write a book trying to explain all of the different ways that the number one has significance in our lives, but I really want to focus on just a few of those ways here. To begin, I want to think about the base of what makes any one thing impactful. Jesus is truly the One that we all need. Jesus is the only way to salvation, which is explained to us in John 14:16, where "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" Jesus is clear here; He is quite direct that He is the only way to eternal life, the only way to Heaven, the only way to salvation. When I think about the power of one, I really think about the power of the Holy One, for He is the foundation for our faith. When we are tempted to believe that may be there are numerous avenues to eternal life, we can remind ourselves of Jesus's words here. The death of Jesus on the cross is the one way we can make it to Heaven. Without the power of this sacrifice, we are unable to enter the gates to salvation.

John 10:9 is another example of how God's beloved Son is the One that holds the most power, can change our lives completely, can give us peace and life. We are told in this verse that "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture." Jesus does not say that He is a door, no, He says that He is the door. These two verses from John completely destroy any attempt of the world to tell us that there is no real power in Jesus, that there are numerous ways to get to Heaven, that it does not matter if we believe in the power of Christ. In this way, we can entirely see how the power of one moment, one instant, one person, one inspiration, all come back to One Lord, the One way to heaven, the One Jesus Christ. He is the foundation of our faith, of everything we do, of all the little moments that might leave an impact.

I want to dive into this a little more; Jesus was one person, He was one man. And He completely changed the world forever. God did not send down an army, but instead He sent One. And that One was who we needed. He holds the key to salvation for every single one of us. When we think about the impact that Jesus had and continues to have, we can see that as a chance for us to be changed by His power, by His love, by His grace. God's power is amazing, and He can work on us, in us, and through us so that we can be representatives of the impact Jesus has. However, before we can be a vessel for His glory and light, it is critical that we first let the Holy One into our hearts; 2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." I love this verse when we consider the power of one, when we consider the power of the Lord. Without Him, we have no power, we are dead to sin, we are completely and entirely rendered incapable of seeing good from evil, and we are unable to leave a lasting impact. However, because of the Lord, we are able to let the Holy Spirit work in us, able to be a vessel for His glory.

If any of us are struggling to let the Holy Spirit into our hearts, I want to encourage you to try it, just once. The power of One is inspiring, for He has saved us through sending His only Son to die for us, and He continues to work in us every single day. And all it takes is one time letting the Holy Spirit into your heart, one leap of faith into His arms, one time listening to God speak to us. The power of one minute, one day, one moment is inspiring. It might be intimidating, but when we take a chance on the power of the Holy One, we are never disappointed, never left alone, never left to be in charge of our own fate. We can trust in God to lead us the way we are meant to go, encourage us to stay strong when we are faced with adversity, can resist the devil from taking us out of God's loving arms, and we can be an example of how God's love for us changed everything. Even long-term believers fall out of the habit of trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit. We so easily forget about the strength and faith of letting God take over one moment, then another, then another, until we are living our lives for God, letting the Holy Spirit influence every piece of us.

We might understand the power of one in the terms of God being the only one, true God, Jesus being the One way to salvation, and the Holy Spirit being the one Voice we are to listen to above all others, but I also want to look at the power of one in how we can be the one chosen by God to make a difference. Through God, we have power, His power, working in us. There is only one of you, one of me, one of each person you meet. I find that we really do not consider this often, which is why I want to bring it up now. People may find fault, might poke and prod at you, might think that they know enough about you to make a judgement, but let me tell you, my friends, because there is only one of you, there is no way that people can understand the intricacies of how God made you. Our uniqueness is what allows us to touch the world in a way that no one has seen before. Our individuality is what teaches people how to be kind, to be thoughtful, to listen, to be considerate, and more. When we find ourselves thinking we need to whittle ourselves down, water ourselves down, and so on, in order to meet the expectations of our peers, the world around us, and society, we have forgotten the power of one. Ephesians 2:10 states "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." When we remember that we are God's workmanship, we can abandon the fear of unacceptance, dismiss the ways in which people find fault, and more, so long as we continue to align ourselves with the Holy Spirit and seek Him to work in us. We are here on this earth for God's reason, and that reason is to do work for the Lord, to make a difference in the world for Him, and to share His love with others.

We could be the one person that someone needs to see God's love and light, we could be part of the one moment where someone sees God in a new way, we could be the one person who cares enough to listen to someone else. Being patient, being kind, being considerate, can be exhausting, which is why I want to bring us back to the foundation of our faith. As mentioned above, our power is not our own, but instead it comes from letting Christ into our lives, which therefore allows Him to work on others with and through us. Colossians 1:11 talks to us about "Being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy" Here we are reminded that the Lord's power is above and beyond anything we could try to comprehend, and yet, we are strengthened by it on a daily basis. In this way, we have no fear of losing our power, losing our impact, losing our faith and becoming discouraged, for we are strengthened and fueled by the Lord's love and grace.

Whether we are the first one to do something different, the one who takes their time and gifts and gives them freely, the one who witnesses to someone else, the one follower or supporter of something that aligns with our beliefs, we all have the power of One on our side. When we take a chance and let God into our lives, we can see His rays of light from every angle, find the blessings among the rubble, help others who need it, and leave an impact far greater than we could have ever imagined. 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." We can harbor the power of the Lord, and use it to be part of that one moment or be the one person that someone else may need to find God. When we have the Holy One working in us, there are no limits to what we can accomplish!