I recently had the incredible privilege of attending the Proverbs 31, She Speaks Conference. A big fat “WOW!” doesn’t come close to describing how phenomenal it was. The very first hour of the very first day we worshiped God and sang praises to the Beloved. I wiped tears from my eyes and told my new girlfriends, “Well, we can go home now because it can’t possibly get any better than this!”

Over the next three days we worshiped, learned, laughed, learned, ate, worshiped, learned and ate. {Charlotte, North Carolina knows how to feed people!} Now that my stomach is shrinking back to size I’m also trying to bring my brain back into orbit. Every attendee I talked to felt as if their head would pop with the abundance of information regarding ministry in speaking and writing.

One item that was brought up repeatedly was a phenomenon known as platform.

Platform is defined as something one can stand on so they can be heard.

I laughed heartily when one gal shared that the only kind of platform she was familiar with was the shoe on her foot! Despite the brief levity the truth is I became burdened about my own platform. Not the social media platform. And certainly not the shoes in my closet.

No, I was overwhelmed with the thought of precious souls back home. I certainly had not been on a platform when in their presence. The truth of the matter is I’d done the polar opposite of utilizing a platform. I’d plum “hid it under a bushel.”

Oh, I’d been praying. I’d been collecting gifts and books to share. But what if time runs out? Repeatedly, Lysa Teurkerst shared…

“This is no joke.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears as she choked out the message that souls are lost and it’s an urgent matter. I felt a weight of conviction as I imagined how I’d tossed out my platforms and pranced through peoples lives in ballerina slippers.

The reality is we all have a platform.

We all have people in our lives that we could choose to grace with love and truth, people for whom God specifically intended us to reach. Of course, we need to carefully consider how we deliver the Good News. St. Francis of Assisi said, “We must share the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.” At the same time we must guard against fear and not allow it to keep us from sharing our verbal testimony.

The prayer I must whisper under my breath is this, “Jesus, what does this person need today so they will know how much you love them?” The Good News will look different for every individual I encounter. The very next prayer (the one I was convicted to employ more often) is this, “God give me the courage to follow through with what you’ve revealed!”