Growing up in God, I never had any problem believing God could do amazing things, but when it came to me, I just couldn’t reconcile how He could use me. As a youngster, I definitely wanted super powers to save people from peril, but I had a long list of reasons why “I” was not able to be the significant person I secretly wanted to be. As I got older, I began dreaming of joining the Peace Corps, which later led me to becoming a missionary. I had this drive within me to travel to places and make a difference. I spent years serving as a missionary and produced so little fruit.

The shift to making a lasting impact came when the Lord started to talk to me about how “I” was significant. He began to impress on my heart that just my presence in a place made a difference and that what I believed to be true about myself would actually open the door to influence those in an environment.

For most of my life, people would say that I looked familiar to them, or that they had met me before. My usual response was, “Oh, I must just have one of those common faces.” One day, in my heart, I heard God say, “Never call common what I made unique. Jill, those people are recognizing something of Me in you.” It struck a place deep within me. How would I feel if someone spoke of one of my children as “just common?” I repented and turned my mind to understand all of what this could mean. The places in my life where I had encountered God’s grace in a significant ways had left an indelible mark on how people experienced me. I asked Him to show me that this was true. That very same trip we stopped in Charlotte, NC for a short layover before our last leg. While waiting, I decided to walk to a newsstand to check out the magazines. As I approached the display, the woman behind the desk looked at me and said, “Weren’t you just here?” “No, but sometimes when people say that to me, I think they just recognize Jesus in me,” I said. Her eyes widened and she retorted, “What did you just say?” “Umm, sometimes I think people recognize Jesus in me,” I said a little sheepishly. Stunned, the woman said, “I have walked away from the Lord for 20 years and I just rededicated my life to him. I asked him to send me someone today to give me a word. Do you have a word for me?” I smiled, said “yes,” and proceeded to encourage her.

One of my mentors once told me that we are like an iceberg in the ocean. People only see a very small portion of who we are, but if you draw close enough to an iceberg, you will experience all of what you don’t see underneath. As we allow God to mold us and make us into the image of His son, Jesus, people will encounter Him.

Intercession means: the action of intervening on behalf of another. We have the privilege to find people throughout our day who have come to an impasse, an intersection. Value the history you have made with Him and let who you are leak out on those around you. As His ambassadors – be intercession.

By Jill Talbot