“Like Jeremiah before us, you and I have a two-fold word from God as well: one is a word for us to personally embrace and live; and the other is a word for us to carry to someone else. When we discover, embrace, and export our word, dynamic living begins in earnest.”
Do you have someone who speaks into your life? Is there someone who observes your life and offers his or her insight into your present or future matters? I’ve always had two kinds of people who would speak into my life: people who truly know my situation and offer a word that is healing, hopeful, and encouraging, and then there are people who mean well, but let’s just say they are not helping my situation.
I often wonder which of those two categories I fall under. I know I’ve shared some really encouraging words with people because they’ve told me so. But if I’m completely honest, I know I’ve spoken some words that really weren’t helpful at all. I just wanted to say something profound for the purposes of feeding my own ego. And who does that benefit? Absolutely no one.
I remember roughly six years ago I needed a word from God (I didn’t know it at the time). I was as low as I could possibly feel and was keeping it together on the outside for my family, but falling apart on the inside. It was then God brought a friend to me who has often been one of those voices of healing, hope, and encouragement. We were talking at length about life and the goings-on of family and work and then what felt like all of the sudden there was a long pause.
He looked me in the eyes and said, “How’s your soul?”
About ten seconds past as I fought an overwhelming wave of emotion flood inside of me. He had seen past all the outward appearance and fluff and spoke straight to my soul with a piercing question. I hadn’t asked how my soul was doing in a long time, and when those words speared my inmost being it was like a dam had broken and a surge of life came rushing through my internal barrier.
Instead of boring you with the rest of the story I will say that much healing came from the phrase: “How’s your soul?” Not because it’s so profound, but because of the person who carried and spoke those words to me. I’ve been forever grateful to this dear friend for asking me such a simple yet powerful question. It has been my mission ever since to carry the meaning behind those words to those in my life. Not for them to be devastated by the effects (although this was a good thing for me), but to be transformed, encouraged, seen, and valued despite the barriers they have built in their life.
You may not feel like a prophet, but God does want to use you. You may not feel like you have anything to offer right now and that’s okay. I don’t know if any prophet “felt” like the right person to share a word. Just know that God is still speaking to you, and never forget your purpose is to export that to others. Not to feed an ego, but to bring hope and life when it’s needed most.
Isaiah Granados 