Three years ago, on July 29, 2011 I published my first eBook: Desires of My Heart. Since self publishing my first book I have sold AND given away tens of thousands of ebooks and paperback books. A lot of people stay away from the self publishing route because they feel they can never reach a certain status or even standard. But some people go the self publishing route because they believe God has a message that He wants to get through them. Some people write because they desire to be obedient to the call God has placed on their life. Others stay away from the idea of self publishing, or even obedience to the call God has placed on their life out of fear or even pride.
One of the biggest things that was holding me back from continuing the self publishing route was the fear that I would be writing to myself – I feared no one would read my books, then I thought “What’s the point?” But in my faith I trusted that my books would be read by whomever the Lord wanted to read them! I had to move to a place in my faith where I stopped writing for the applause and the “fame”, and I was writing out of OBEDIENCE to the call God had placed on my life.
Often the motives of our heart determine our promotion.
I have never been promoted because I THOUGHT I was good enough for that position, or simply because I wanted it. God has always promoted me WITH my maturity. If we are wanting to have doors opened, then it most definitely requires faith.
King David had a selfless faith and He was obedient to the call God had placed on His life. David was willing to fight ONE giant and that fight gave him influence over many people as a mighty warrior. This battle was done in front of an entire army of men who were simply too scared to claim their identity and fight the giant.
David knew he was King and as he approached the army, and he saw Goliath, he knew he would win this battle. David lived a life of a King before he even received the anointing. He received the anointing because God knew David’s heart and the things he did when no one was looking.
David knew that each battle had a purpose, no matter how big or small, or whether or not it was done in front of an entire army OR if it was done in secret. Before David was anointed King he killed a lion with his bare hands, nobody knew about this, David had faith and was a mighty warrior even when the whole world didn’t even know his name.
The fruit we see in people’s lives are often a result of the intimacy they have cultivated with The Lord in the secret place. The secret years of their lives, and the secret acts of faith.
Nobody gets to a fruitful season without first having to endure the dry seasons of life. God is using these moments where nobody knows your name, and nobody sees your good deeds, in order to train you and prepare you for the position he has called you to.
What if David saw the lion trying to kill his sheep and got scared, and then decided to lie down on the ground to die? Nothing! He never would’ve become King.
God only knows what David did in those years before he was anointed King. What David did in the secret years, and in that secret place determined God’s anointing over his life. God only knows the things that were taught to Jesus the first 30 years of His life! God is a god of preparation, and He is so patient.
I’m sure that Jesus lived His life as the Son of God even when He wasn’t in ministry. I doubt Jesus ever wondered WHEN He would become the SON OF GOD during the first 30 years of His life because He already knew that He was the SON OF GOD! Just because Jesus wasn’t in ministry the first 30 years of His life, that never changed the call God had placed on His life.
Often we can sit and wonder when God’s promises in our life will be fulfilled and we will become what we feel He is calling us to, but in all reality the position never alters the anointing. We are anointed before we receive the position.
If God has given you a platform then use it! If you don’t have one yet, pretend like you do. David protected his sheep like he was a King protecting his kingdom. David acted like a King long before he was anointed to be one!
If God has called you to write, then write. If He has called you to draw, then draw. Whatever He has called you to do, do it as if the entire world is watching you. Too often we walk away from obedience to the call God has placed on our life because nobody can SEE us, nobody is applauding us. Leaders lead when no one is watching and especially when no one is applauding them!
Often our call requires us to be a game changer and create a new culture. Maybe it’s a culture of faith, or integrity, or even LOVE!
Whatever it is we need to be willing to walk out that calling FIRST so that The Lord can multiply it…
Whatever step of faith we are avoiding because we feel it’s not good enough, big enough, or we feel it doesn’t matter because nobody is applauding us…we need to seize the opportunity to learn, and to be molded into the person God created us to be. We need to embrace the process, not the title or the position.
David valued his life and every single position the Lord put him in. David knew that whatever he was doing meant something, and he was able to rise up and do it well without selfish motives or selfish ambition.
The Lord is looking for selfless faith.
He is looking for warriors that will rise up even when nobody’s looking, and only because they are confident in their identity in Christ. The Lord wants warriors who BELIEVE that what they are doing right now in the secret place matters and will produce fruit in the right season…
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