I’ve been inspired by many people in my lifetime. There are times when the Lord reveals himself to us in someone else’s struggles and victories. The Lord takes an ordinary person and does something extra-ordinary in them. Their gifts and talents are used to inspire us to rise above the opposition and challenges we’re facing. We are emboldened by them.

It may be to overcome temptation, an addiction, or some other dehumanizing practice that keeps us in bondage. Those who inspire us can also help us to dream, take risks for the Kingdom, and to pursue what we otherwise would have believed was beyond ourselves. The Lord uses these people to enrich our hearts, expand our minds, and empower the body.

Those who inspire you are flesh and blood examples of the Lord alive today wanting to bless you.

Sometimes there are those who continue to inspire us throughout our entire lives. Time and again these people are a deep source of encouragement and hope for us. Anytime we feel that we’ve reached a dead end, or there is a mountain too high for us, the mere thought of these individuals speak words of life to our soul:

“Keep going. Believe. Don’t give up. There is more. Take it.”

While I have been supported and encouraged by a great many people throughout my life, there are only a few (3 or 4) that I can say continually inspire me—in ways that go beyond their mere abilities.

I see in them the Lord himself, and his ability to be faithful and true to the promises he has made. These people remind me that Jesus is alive, that he loves me, and that he wants to use me for his glory. And do so in the same breathtaking way that he has used them.

The Lord says, “I did this for them. And I can do it for you.”

Those who have inspired us are true inspirations because they don’t live for themselves. They have emptied themselves. Their cup has been filled with the Lord’s wine. And they give off a sweet aroma of God’s goodness in Christ. We’re attracted to the Christ in them, and that same Christ calls us to believe—believe that new creation is possible in you and through you.

So, who inspires you like this? In what ways are their example breeding faith, hope, and love? What is the Lord calling you to do as a result of this inspiration? Are you letting him have his way in it?

Those who inspire us are gifts from God. Evidence of the incarnate Christ.

Think about it.

D.D. Flowers, 2012.