For the Journey Literature

While September did not include anything quite as exciting as launching a new website, I would still call it a good month for For the Journey. And, I did update the business card to include the new website, so that’s exciting, right?

The month also included printing a couple of orders, which is always wonderful and a blog post for the website titled “Worth the Work.” Check it out if you missed it!

Since it had been a couple of months, it seemed like a good time for a new podcast episode. This one was inspired by time spent with Dad, time in which he was operating a limb saw from the bucket of his tractor lifted uncomfortably high in the air. And, I was the one responsible for raising and lowering him, which means I was an absolute nervous wreck. I had a lot of fun with this episode, and since I found myself the subject of more than one sermon illustration growing up, I don’t even feel guilty about using Dad without giving him advanced warning. If you missed it, For the Journey Podcast is available on Spotify. Look for “When the Journey Fills You with Anxiety.”

Sunday School literature is the main part of For the Journey Literature, so I work on lessons every month. This month, I primarily focused on adult lessons from 1 Samuel and a couple of lessons from Genesis for younger kids and middle schoolers. My favorite writing moment this past month came while working on lessons from Genesis 21. The following is a short (okay, maybe not exactly short) devotional post I shared on my For the Journey Facebook page:

Why re-share that here? I mean, most of you probably already read it. Well, as it turned out, that post was only half the story. That night, I was so challenged and convicted, so motivated to live with more faith, more hope, and less scoffing disbelief, less despair in certain areas of my life.

Then, the next week happened… It was a terrible week–terrible. It didn’t help that I was sick. Throw in some added unpleasant life-stress I wouldn’t have handled well at 100 percent and so much for living with more faith and hope… I don’t even want to think about all the angst and bitterness I ended up spewing out over the phone to my Mom on my lunch break one day midweek or on the front porch with her one night after I was feeling some better and didn’t think I would get her sick. It was awful. I was awful. So, that only made me thoroughly disgusted with myself, which didn’t exactly help matters.

Not that I’m excusing my behavior, but I don’t think my experience was in any way uncommon. I mean, how often do we leave church after a wonderful Sunday sermon that felt like it was just for us encouraged and motivated only to have Monday morning madness slap us in the face?

The good news is that there’s grace for that. God can pick us back up and dust us off. Trying and failing doesn’t mean we can’t try again. But, I also think maybe we need that to happen sometimes because then, when we do try again, we do so humbled. We do so more aware of the fact that, if we’re going to change, if we’re going to be better, we’re not going to do so in our own strength. We’re going to have to rely on the Lord and His strength. He can do in us what no amount of resolve or exertion of our willpower will ever accomplish. That’s why we need Him so.

I truly believe God has gifted each and every one of us to fulfill our purpose and live out the calling or callings He’s placed on our lives.  (After all, that’s biblical.)  Some are gifted for teaching and preaching.  Others are naturally generous or filled with incredible faith.  Some are so good at seeing when someone is in desperate need of encouragement and always seem to have just the right words.  Still others are blessed with great knowledge and wisdom.  God has gifted us all in different ways to fulfill different roles to build up the body of Christ and bring glory to Him.  

But, having a gift, doesn’t mean we’ll always be motivated to use it to the fullest.  It doesn’t mean we’ll never struggle with disappointment and discouragement in our ministries.  For instance, when I come home exhausted and feeling like I’ve been run over by a mack truck after a crazy busy Monday at work, I’m not motivated and thinking, “I’m just so blessed to have been given my writing ministry and can’t wait to work some more tonight!”  I wish I were that sanctified, but I’m not…  I’m thinking I’d like to find out what it’s like to actually get eight hours of sleep, or I’d like to loaf on my couch and enjoy a novel.  Being really honest, if the day has left me pretty cranky, I’m letting terrible thoughts like, “If God wanted me to write tonight, He could have made the workday easier,” or “If God wants me to keep this up much longer, He needs to open up some doors or part a sea,” creep in.  Spiritual gifts are, without question, tremendous blessings from the Lord.  But, at times, using them, living them out, still takes an act of will.

Paul addressed this in both of his letters to Timothy.  In 1 Timothy 4:14, Paul urged Timothy not to neglect the gift within him, and in 2 Timothy 1:6, Paul wrote, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.”  The gift was there, but Timothy was responsible for making full use of it.  When Timothy was perhaps tempted toward discouragement because he had to work harder to be taken seriously due to his young age, Timothy had to remember the gift within him and not neglect it but continue to minister.  Timothy had to study and meditate on the Word both to be encouraged thereby and to be able to teach and preach to others effectively.  Timothy had to stir up or fan into flame the gift within him so that he wouldn’t be discouraged or frightened by the sufferings of Paul, his mentor in the faith and a father-figure to him.  Timothy couldn’t let fear creep in but had to remain unashamed of the gospel and willing to suffer for it.  Timothy had to remember theirs was a holy calling, and he had to put in the effort.  He had to make sure his gift wasn’t neglected, that his fire didn’t burn out.

The same is true for Christians today.  Gifted pastors and Sunday School teachers still can’t just show up on Sunday morning and expect to preach and teach well.  They have to put the work in.  They have to be intentional about studying the Word and preparing their sermon or lesson.  They have to be praying and working to maintain their own personal relationship with Christ, or it will be that much easier for them to become discouraged or distracted.  Even worse, it will be that much easier for them to fall into sin and do serious damage to their testimony.

Gifts are great, but they have to be used.  And, sometimes, using them requires making sacrifices and pushing ourselves.  God doesn’t give us a ministry without gifting and equipping us for it, but being gifted and equipped doesn’t mean we’ll have it easy.  It doesn’t mean we won’t face intense battles because so often our spirit is willing but our flesh is weak.  

Drawing from personal experience, over and over again in my writing ministry, I’ve found that, if I’ll be intentional about getting my Bible out and working on a lesson even though I don’t feel like my focus is there or even though I’m exhausted or discouraged, it usually still starts out a bit rough.  I’ll write a sentence just to mark it out or write a paragraph only to rephrase half of it.  But, then, usually after a break for focused prayer, the words start flowing as naturally as breathing, and by the time I put the pen down, I’m more refreshed than I would be from eight hours of sleep or from an evening spent relaxing on the couch.  That’s God’s blessing.  That’s God’s goodness poured out.

So, yes, sometimes, it’s easier to neglect our gifts.  Sometimes, it’s easier to just stay distracted or wallow in our discouragement.  But, when we choose instead to stir up our gift, to do what it takes to stay passionate and inspired in our ministry, to be intentional about walking closer and closer to the Lord, to fan our gift into a roaring flame so it can be used to the fullest, as God intends, it is always, always worth it.

When I started what became For the Journey, I was just writing Sunday School Literature. (The name and the logo came later.) I knew that was my calling and wanted to be obedient, but at the time, all I imagined doing was Sunday School Literature and probably only for adults.

God had other plans, though, and has led me step by step over the years in adding other offerings. Some of them I was more excited about than others. For instance, it was all excitement when it came to adding 30-Day Devotionals, but it was mostly all nerves when it came to adding the podcast…

When the Lord started dealing with me about a website, I wasn’t crazy about the idea. I’m not tech-savvy, so the thought of trying to design a website had me imagining pulling all my hair out in frustration or perhaps smashing my computer with a hammer. I just knew I wasn’t smart enough. Then, if I figured it out (which seemed like a big if to me), would it be worth the time, energy, and frustration? Would any good come from it? Any growth?

So, I did something I’m really good at… I delayed…

But, thinking about a website every single day started to get old, so as I was praying one night, I just honestly said, “God, I’m not a web designer.” Probably in less than a fraction of a second, I found myself thinking, “You weren’t a podcaster either…” That was the moment I knew a website was in my future.

Research did not go well. I may not have pulled my hair out or smashed my computer, but my frustration level was pretty high. I hate not knowing what I’m doing, and I hate not knowing a project will turn out well.

I realized, however, that, if I ever wanted to think about something other than a possible website, I was going to have to stop trying to figure out every single detail ahead of time and just jump right in. After all, our obedience doesn’t require much faith or trust if we already have all the answers.

And, guess what? Jumping in went way smoother than trying to figure out all the details. Sometimes, the most rewarding tasks are the ones that have us thinking, “Um, God, I can’t be the right person for that,” or “Um, God, just thinking about that makes me want to pull my hair out,” or “Um, God, are you sure about that?” They force us to depend on the Lord to guide and help us. They humble us. They stretch our faith, our trust. Sometimes, our “Um, God…” objections become the first steps of exciting new journeys.