I'm convinced one of the hardest challenges for the 21st Century Believer in Jesus is trust, leaning, believing.
The F word. Faith.
We detest waiting. We loath the process. The ten second version is too long. The two second, too short.
Can't God conform, transform, reform me in six to eight seconds? A Hollywood sound bit is only 4 seconds and the world is ready and will ask their Doctor about a drug they don't need.
Jesus said this in Matthew 23:12, "And whoever exalts himself shall be humbedl; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."
Humbling is hard. It takes a process to ge there and stay there. But look at the promise. The humble will be exalted.
This is a constant battle for me in the publishing world. How much do I promote myself? How do I avoid feeling left out or the notion I have to "get my name out there?"
I could spend thousands of dollars and thousands of hours on promotion and marketing. Neither of which I have. Even hundreds. I try to do what I can, but unless God goes before me, it's all for nothing anyway.
One word from Heaven, and I'm on the bestseller list. Truly. So, with that in mind, what is my responsibility.
Well, in Matthew 22:37 Jesus tells the Pharsees the greatest commandment. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind."
He concludes with the second commandment in verse 39, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
What is blaringly obvious is that I spend more time worrying about my books and place in the writing community than I do loving God and loving my neighbor.
If I really want a place in life, in eternity (which is a lot long than life) then I should fix my mind on loving Him with every ounce of my being and out of that overflow, loving my neighbor as myself.
The books will take care of themselves. He will take care of them. God has this unique economy. "Lay down your life. Surrender. Don't think or worry about yourself. Take up your cross and follow me."
And in the midst of our surrender, He takes care of all our needs. All of them.
"Lord, once more, I give you my life - my heart, my mind, my soul, my strength."
Grace and peace.
Ping. You're right. What I needed to hear. My issue is more with people that I keep giving of myself to and get nothing in return. I want to 'not talk' to them anymore, ever. But that is not the right attitude. The attitude is to be their friend and love them...be an example of Christ.
ReplyDeleteLove you
Bekah
Thanks for sharing, Rachel....I've been asking myself some hard questions lately, and this spoke to me.
ReplyDeleteperfect timing for me to read this post. Thanks so much.
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