Are you anchored in your surroundings or are you anchored in the promises of God over your life? Hi friends, my name is Rachel Hale, and I want to encourage you today from 2 Corinthians 4:18. It says, “So I set my eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen; for what is seen is only temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” I want to encourage you today to begin to make decisions not based on your circumstances, but on where you want to be, where you feel called to be. Begin to make decisions based on the promises of God over your life, and you will walk into your promised land.
I am originally from a town of 3,500 people in southwest Arkansas. I think we got our second stoplight when I was about 20 years old. I’m so proud to be from that town. It’s called Prescott, but it’s tiny. When I was 10 years old, God told me clear as day, He said that I would bring people to Christ through music. I would sing and bring people to Christ through music. That’s what He told me. And when I told people that they really didn’t believe me, simply because of the size of the town I was from. Where I was from, the odds were really high against me.
I remember my own grandmother sat down with me and I was playing the piano, and she came and sat down next to me and she said, “Rachel, what are you gonna do when you get older?” And I looked at her, I said, “I’m gonna be a singer.” And she said, “Well, what’s your plan B?” And I looked at her, I said, “I don’t have a plan B. I’m gonna bring people to Christ through music. I’m gonna sing for God.” And so my own grandmother, who had a good heart and was just wanting to make sure, I think that I would be financially stable, didn’t even believe what God said to me. But I knew that He had spoken.
And so at a young age, I began to make decisions, not based on my circumstances, but on according to what God had spoken to me. And so the promise that God spoke to me when He said that I was to sing for Him, dictated everything I chose to do throughout my life. I chose not to date certain boys, because I knew that they weren’t headed the same direction I was headed. I chose not to be a cheerleader simply because I didn’t want to scream every day, and I knew that it would destroy my voice and I had to protect it, because I was going to sing for God. I chose to go to a high school that had a good music program, because I knew I needed to get better at music. And I ended up going to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, because I wanted to major in songwriting and become a better songwriter, so that I could write songs that would glorify God.
When I was 21, I decided to do an internship in Los Angeles. When I got to LA, I had never seen so many types of, honestly, drugs, alcohol, genres of music, acting opportunities, different, you know, ways of life that really kind of scared me to be honest, because I had never lived outside of the Bible belt and I had never been exposed to, you know, that kind of culture. And I remember being terrified and saying, “Oh God, if I don’t seek you right now, I don’t know who I’m gonna be at the end of this six months. I need to know you. I need to know you.” And I began to just read the Word. I just read it. I literally ate the Word every day. I was so hungry. And in my pursuit of the Word of God and knowing Jesus, I actually ended up encountering the Holy Spirit and received my prayer language. And in that encounter, I told God, I said, “God, I don’t care if I just sing for two people for you. That’s enough. I will sing for you even if it’s just for two people, and bring people to Christ through music.”
And then in a matter of nine months, God took me from that two people that I had promised Him to 15 million. You see, in a matter of nine months, I actually ended up being on American Idol and being a top 20 female finalist on the show. That opportunity alone allowed me to sing all over the country for the Lord. And now the last two music videos that I released are playing on GOD TV. So the promise did come to pass. I am singing for God and bringing people to Christ through music.
I want to encourage you with that testimony today, because I believe that there are promises God has spoken to your heart and He wants to bring them to pass, but He needs you to take steps of faith towards those promises. In James 2:20 it says, “Faith without works is dead.” So today I want you to grab a sheet of paper. I want you to write the promise that God spoke over your life at the top, and then I want you to write 10 things that you can do that will lead you toward that promise. Begin to speak those out in the morning and at night, and before you know it, you’ll have worked your way through those 10 things. Once you’re done with that, write 10 more. Before you know it, you’re going to be walking straight into the promise God has for your life.
I’m going to pray for you. Jesus, I thank you for every single person listening. I ask, Father, that you would remind them of the purpose and the promise over their life. And I ask, Holy Spirit, that you would begin to give them practical steps to move toward the promise that you’ve spoken. And I thank you, Father God, just for the destiny of each person watching and I pray, Holy Spirit, that your Kingdom will come to Earth as it is in Heaven. In Jesus’ Name, amen.