I was attending my first Christian authors’ conference. I was excited about the classes being offered and hoped to learn and grow within my chosen field. I met well known authors, authors I would consider mid-listers, and authors much like me who were making their way through this journey into authorship. While I had a handful of books published at the time I met many who had just published their first.
I was not a participant in the following conversation, but I was within the group involved in it. I can’t say I remember the whole conversation, but I was struck by a part which still gives me pause in my own life. When God tells me to act, how do I respond? That question is now entrenched in the way I live my life. It is also one of those situations that challenges my concept of the power of faith and what it means to seek God.
A new author was on the verge of tears. She was doing her best to learn everything she needed to know to be a successful author. What she was more concerned with than anything was a feeling of abandonment. She explained to those listening how God had told her to write her book. She was certain He had put it on her heart. However, she could not reconcile that with her failure to sell copies of her book beyond her family and friends.
She was struggling with her faith. She was asking why He would tell her to do something and then not bless her efforts.
In the years that have followed I have thought about that conversation quite often.
Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt as if you were doing exactly what God wanted you to do, only to feel He was taking a hands off approach to the situation?
Below are a few tips I use when I have similar questions about how I should react, when God tells me to act.
Did God really put the situation into motion, or was it something I wanted and something I placed His name on rather than Him placing His name on the situation?
Answering this question can take prayer and time. Seeking God and asking Him to help you understand His will before you act is a good first step. If you decide to move forward, do so asking for His blessings on the situation rather than assuming He will pave the way because it is His will.
There are many examples in the Bible of people who were given instructions directly from God. Some of those people reaped bountiful blessings. Others like John the Baptizer were used in ways that touched the lives of others, but they lived their lives with targets on their backs. Remember, just because God is involved doesn’t mean things will go smoothly. John had his head taken. The Apostles died martyrs deaths. The prophet Jeremiah suffered at the hands of others.
Am I willing and ready to be used by God no matter what?
If God is truly calling me to act in a particular way to push forward with a particular project or situation, I had better do it. If He wants me to serve others by following His lead, there is only one option for me. I only need to read what happened to Jonah when he tried to run from God, to see I would be better off following Him than running the other way.
What do I see as a blessing?
If God is truly calling me to act and I do so, what am I looking for in return? Does He owe me for doing what He asked me to do? No, God does not owe us anything for doing what He asks, but He does love us and He will bless us for obedience in the ways He sees best. Blessings for following His lead comes in many forms.
Abraham was blessed with huge herds and flocks, a large family, and prophesied blessings for His descendants. On the other hand, Paul lived a life of persecution and dealt with a health problem which was never healed. God said His grace was sufficient for him. But his life in Christ was assured. That alone was a blessing.
I have to be willing to accept His plan for my life, whatever that plan might be. I would rather accept Him and His way, follow Him, and live with Him on a daily basis than try to do anything on my own. I have learned without Him I fail. With Him my blessings abound. Sometimes they are monetary, other times they are about relationships, and at other times He has healed me.
The author who was doubting God’s involvement could not see blessings beyond monetary value. We cannot and should not limit the blessings God has in store for us. When things don't go as planned, it might be according to His plan.
What I took away from the conversation at the writer’s conference was two-fold.
First, I need to be very careful about placing His name on my projects. If He wants to place His name on my projects, it will be obvious and there will be no denying it. Second, I cannot tell Him how to bless me. He chooses the blessings, and He decides what I need in my life. I can pray about it. I can ask Him for what I believe I need. In the end the decision is His. That is where faith meets life, trusting Him to do what is best, no matter what.
I hope this article has given you something to think about in your own life. Remember to cherish the journey.
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