“I was surrounded by people who were so in tune with the Holy Spirit… and then there was me.”
Chelsey Rahill has a long history with faith in God, but often felt that something was missing. It wasn’t until she entered adulthood that she realized what the something—or someone—was: the Holy Spirit. Chelsey recalls being raised in a very traditional Orthodox church, which she believes to be beautiful, but just didn't learn much about the Holy Spirit nor His gifts.
It wasn’t until she joined a Circle at Victory well into adulthood that she was introduced to the Holy Spirit and His gifts. Where she had not known them before, she was now in a place and with people that embraced the gifts of the Spirit in a safe way that encouraged her to explore them on her own. “It just created such a hunger and a thirst for more of the Holy Spirit,” and she strived to satiate that hunger and thirst for years!
After a long season of evangelizing and believing the Lord had given her a gift of encouragement, Chelsey started encountering what she believed to be fruitless encounters. This season was so discouraging, that she began to question if she ever had these spiritual gifts. “I believed that I was a hinderance.”
Enter Victory’s “Godly Gifts” sermon season.
“I am 100% sure that all of you have gifts God has given you.” This was the encouragement Pastor Jon gave one weekend, and exactly what Chelsey needed to hear that day. In the days leading up to this weekend, she was incredibly moved by the story of Caleb and the meaning of his name: faithful. After hearing this message from Pastor Jon, and reading about Caleb, she had one desire in her heart—to be called faithful.
As it was prophetic weekend at Victory, Chelsey went up for prayer and further encouragement. The first words out of a member of our prophetic team was this: “God calls you faithful!” Those words were Chelsey’s undoing. She felt seen by God and it corrected the lie that she was a hinderance. She now understood that she could not control the outcome of her operating in her spiritual gifts. She just needs to keep going!
“I often believed it’s up to me… but that’s not the message of the cross.”
In that moment, Chelsey understood that she just needs to abide in the Lord and stop striving to make things happen. She walked away feeling inspired and more on fire than every to confidently continue walking in her spiritual gifts and sharing the gospel with everyone she meets! Chelsey knows now that God calls her His faithful servant, and she is going to continue being a fisher of men.
