The Power of One….Mosquito!

I had a terrible night sleep. If the humidity and heaviness of the air wasn’t bad enough my room was also invaded by a powerful fiend….the mosquito.

Having stirred, my ears registered the faint hum of the mosquito which got louder as it neared me. I tried to ignore it but couldn’t. Light was turned on – I tried to stare into thin air to find it. Hard enough to do at any other time of the day, but with sleep bleared eyes even harder. I resorted to Insect spray. The drone of the mosquito still continued and now all I could smell was the spray.

In the end I fell sleep, head buried under my pillow to shut out the noise of the mosquito. Worse than a party next door (not that my neighbours have those), this tiny little mosquito ruined my night!

This infuriating mosquito was so little yet it’s impact on me was so huge! I wonder if it was at all daunted at its ability to disturb my sleep? We stare at life, we look at our communities, we look at the obstacles and think how I can make an impact. We can be daunted as to the size of the task and the smallness of us.

Well my friend, if that mosquito can you can!

History is full of stories of ordinary people leading extraordinary lives as they stepped up to be change agents and shape their times.  Churchill rallied a nation against Hitler. Martin Luther King had a dream that brought segregation to an end in the United States. Ghandi, a lawyer from India, broke the strength of the British Empire to birth a nation.

These ordinary people, born for such as time as theirs, pressed against History and transformed their world. They were the tipping point and they demonstrate that one person can make a difference.

Throughout the Bible we see time and time again, God choosing the few to overcome the many; the small to overcome the large. We see it with David and Goliath, Gideon and his 300 soldiers, and Elijah against the prophets of Baal.

We may not be Warriors or Prime Ministers, but we are all change makers. We all have a sphere of influence. You may be just one person – one Christian in your family, one Christian in your workplace but you carry within you the King and Lord of all! Don’t underestimate your ability to influence. You affect and impact the people you are around. You can be that tipping point for change that your family, your workplace, city and nation so need.

We were all created for a specific purpose by our God.  A purpose to change the world in which we live, to do His divine will. Every pawn on the chess board has a role and is needed if the game is to be won. Don’t discredit yourself if you are not the Bishop or the Queen. We are all needed. We are all planned for. We all have a role to play. We are told in Daniel that “the people that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits” (Daniel 11:32). So we can confidently and boldly step out and impact every nation and every generation.

Resist the efforts of the world to keep you as one of the crowd. Look beyond the present conditions. Look beyond the obvious and see the future of your dreams. Ghandi did, Churchill and Martin Luther King did. They saw a future and so they stepped out from the crowd and fought for it.

It takes just one person to stand. So don’t despise the day of small beginnings -just keep on being obedient to whatever God tells you to do. Those small acts of obedience to God, those small responses to God moving in your life all count.

Small becomes large – a minority becomes a majority when our God is involved.

Remember – “If you think you are too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito“. (African proverb)