What is your goal? What is mine?
Is it to grow your platform, your likes, shares and interests? Is your shared life out there to create fame, hustle, or competition? Or is the goal something else? It might be something closer to home, closer to heart, and closer to the ultimate prize of finishing the race well and with faith.
My heart is heavy with change and defeat. As my season changes, yet as I try to press forward to try to create some semblance of consistency, encouragement, and hope, I feel frustrated. I feel challenged in the face of what my call is.
There’s so much competition out there and people have new means of seeking affirmation and feel good memes that they don’t want to engage unless you side with very popular pop-culture Christianity. When one has a larger than life circle of friends it’s easy to draw more in. Forget the friends and family we do have, our goals are not their goals so as they preach to support, we find they lack the same.
Where are we left? We are left fighting the backwards stream of drowning hope and find ourselves questioning dreams and seemingly wasted time trying to spread truth for the sake of God’s kingdom. Maybe we even think we heard His call wrong. Maybe we didn’t hear His voice at all.
This is where I stand, wanting to throw in the towel and give in to this defeat, these deflated goals of mine and seek a new outlet, or just live in quiet.
God speaks against this mindset that my pity party has led to.
Matthew 5:16 ESV
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
I ask: what if people don’t care about your light? What if their initial interest becomes “no longer interested?” Do you run away with your tail between your legs like a dog who is afraid of the world?
We don’t work to earn, we work to glorify. My bad attitude tells me that my works don’t seem to matter to the world, and I should just hang up the hat.
Then I am reminded, as I remind anyone else who else stands along the shifting shore with me: God wants us to keep pressing on. He wants us to keep running the race. If we speak truth into just one person, we have done what He set out for us to do. If we encourage one person to thrive in their faith, then we grow the kingdom by one. That one can reach more. We cause a ripple effect, even if it is just one by one. It’s tough, and always a uphill battle. People try to bring us down, but we need to remember it’s mostly the lies of the enemy that causes these things to not roll off of our backs. It is him causing these bad attitudes, oppressive thoughts, and uses others to drive us into the ground.
We need to fight back with hope and to grow our own faith walk despite these things.
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Try as the enemy might, defeated as we may feel, we cannot allow for him to win. He tries to destroy us but we can rise above with truth on our side. We win despite our hurt feelings because we belong to God.
Now it’s time to move. Keep going forward and don’t look back in comparison no matter how hurt you sometimes feel. Glorify the Lord with what you have and He will see you through.
I would love for you to join me…
Hello. I needed to read this. The part about pressing forward and continuing in the race. Thank you for that reminder!!! I will, because the one does matter!!! #FMFCommunity
I am glad you are not going to give up. We must continue to let our light shine. You never know who you are impacting. It is not easy by any stretch. I was happy to read this because I have been there too. We can’t give up because He has deposited gifts in us to be a blessing to others. We must continue glorifying Him in all that we do. I wish you all the best. He is with you and will take you where He wants you to go.
You already know that I am in this same uncomfortable place as you, Maryann. This is well written and ends exactly where it should: to keep on keepin on Glorifying God. I’m always challenged and encouraged by your words. You have a gift and I’m glad you’re going to continue to use it!
Thank you, Cindy. You’ve been a great encouragement.
Good, thoughtful post. You made me think and that’s always good!
May you not give up but press on as you never know what your words may mean to the one. May we be faithful to tend to the little corner we have been given – to His glory. Blessings!
I think God is more interested in the quality than the quantity in our lives. And sometimes we don’t realise the influence we are having just living as a Christian in the day to day. A work colleague’s comment the other day made me realise I have been a more positive influence, without specifically focusing on her, than I had ever known.
Not written my FMF post yet but will do later (it’s breakfast time in the UK now!)
Beautifully honest, and for what it’s worth, I always feel like a better person, reading your words, hearing your wisdom.
And you inspired thought, which led to this. For what it’s worth.
They say that I’m an inspiration,
they say that I am brave,
that in my body’s desecration
I find there’s good to save.
I’m glad they cannot see me,
for I’m prob’ly not what they might think;
for I talk like a sailor’s canary
who’s had too much to drink.
I don’t look like a Christian;
perhaps more like a thug
who’d need some disinfectin’
before you risked a hug.
But I tell myself that there are times
when God draws straight with crooked lines.
#1 at FMF this week.
https://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2019/06/your-dying-spouse-632-god-of-second.html
Thank you, Andrew. Same to you.