For we walk
by faith, not by sight. II Corinthians 5:7
As writers, we
have chosen to follow a difficult path. I remember, after a particularly hard
week, my husband remarked that he wished I’d chosen another career, something
simple—like becoming a movie star.
His comparison
was more appropriate than he realized. Success, for both career choices
appears, from the outside at least, to rely on being popular with a lot of
people. Reaching the top seems to come and go with the whims of an unknown
audience. We struggle and strive for numbers—likes on our Facebook pages,
followers on Twitter, and ultimately sales numbers. We seek to please our
readers, our publishers, even other writers.
But when we
have chosen this path at God’s calling, our focus needs to be somewhere other
than those who will read our words. Our audience is an audience of One, and it
is to Him and Him alone that we owe our allegiance. He will dictate, with
wisdom far beyond our own, who will read our words and the reach they will
have. And I for one, am well pleased to leave my destiny in His capable
hands.
So today I
encourage you to seek out the joy of your audience, because I know He is well
pleased by your obedience to follow His call. Let Him lavish you with praise
and protect you from worry. Leave the numbers to Him and concentrate only on
the words.
