I started this blog when I lost my job last October. I had some friends (and a husband) who encouraged me to write. And despite looking for another job, I didn’t find one right away, so writing was better than sitting there depressed and watching NCIS reruns on TV.
But most of all, I started it because I felt He said write. He said blog. He said do it. So, I took the plunge into blogging.
And being the detailed person that I am, I researched how to start a blog, how to grow a blog, best practices for blogging, how to get readers, how to keep readers, how to stand out in a noisy world…and believe me, it’s a noisy world.
The “experts” all said the same thing. Don’t write too much. Don’t write too little. Don’t make it too long. Don’t make it too short. You have to get on twitter and follow thousands of people and tweet 5-10 times a day and keep yourself out there. Get on Facebook. Get on Instagram and Pinterest and Linkedin and Google+. And these people had thousands and thousands of followers, so I listened to what THEY had to say.
And I was miserable. My head was spinning, and I cried out to the Lord one day to make it stop.
And do you know what He said? “WHO SAID to do all those things because it wasn’t Me? I just said write.”
“Well, Lord, THEY said. You know, the experts. THEY said if I’m going to succeed, this is the way it has to be.”
And He asked me one simple question. “WHY are you writing?”
And that was simple. I was writing – not to get a huge following and not to have the most popular blog on the internet – but because He said. Period. I was writing for an audience of One.
When I realized what HE was saying was completely different than what THEY were saying, I had a choice to make. What wisdom was I going to follow?
I’ve been reading in I Kings lately, and when I got to I Kings 11, it made me so sad. It tells how God had told his people not to marry the people of the land. Verse 2 says, “And yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway.” And in verse 3 it goes on to say that those women did in fact turn his heart away from loving God to worshipping other Gods.
And the result of all of that was – the kingdom was divided. Solomon is still known today as that wisest man who ever lived, and yet what did he do with all that wisdom? Did he follow what God said? Not so much. And it divided the kingdom. It wasn’t God’s best plan. Sad.
There are so many voices in this world screaming at us to follow a different way than what God said. Voices that say that this little compromise won’t hurt you or that sin is okay because it’s normal now. Everyone is doing it.
Or experts who say that in order to be a success in Blog World, you have to follow these steps and do all these things. But then it comes back to – WHO SAID?
How do I define success. At the end of the day, if I wrote what He put in my heart and if it helps even one person to be all He’s called them to be, it’s a success. (And I am on social media somewhat…but it’s slow and it’s how He leads.)
God didn’t warn Israel not to marry the people of the land because He didn’t want them to have any fun. It’s because He knew what the outcome would be, and it wasn’t a good one…it was a heart divided. A kingdom divided. And He wanted to protect them so they could live a fully satisfied life.
God’s plans…God’s way…doesn’t always make sense. It will probably be different than what the experts say or our friends say or THEY say. Sometimes it hurts the flesh. And we can’t always see how we’re going to get from here to there or how it will all fit together.
It’s so easy to follow people we can see. It takes faith to follow what He said. It takes trust to set aside all the voices screaming at us every day so we can listen to the still small voice whispering in our hearts, “This is the way, walk in it. Even if it doesn’t make sense. Even if you don’t understand. Even if THEY say something else.”
But the end result is so worth it. Fullness of joy. A happy heart. A fully satisfied life.