Recently I watched a message by Joyce Meyer on TV. She
talked about the many people who are waiting for God to “promote” them – to
open the door to their destiny. This grabbed my attention immediately. Like so
many of us, I’m waiting on a dream: the dream of one day being a published
author. Perhaps Joyce had some key to share about how to reach our dreams more
quickly and effectively?
I turned up the volume on the TV and leaned forward slightly.
Joyce pointed her finger directly at the camera, and with great intensity in
her voice, she said something to this effect: “You’d better pray that God
doesn’t open that door for you until you have the character to walk through
it.”
That line stuck with me. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted to
hear. The truth of it, however, resonated with my spirit.
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| Image by Nattavut, courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net |
The blessing of the closed door
I’ve spent a lot of time over the past decade of my life
banging on the closed door of publication and praying fervently for God to open
it.
But am I truly ready for him to do that?
Could it be that during this waiting time, God has been
protecting me from… myself? He intimately knows my weaknesses. He knows the
strength of character I’ll need in order to walk through that door without
self-destructing. And so, with infinite tenderness and mercy, he forces me
to wait.
I’m reminded of Saul, a man promoted to kingship who lacked
the character to fulfil the call on his life. His reign was characterized by
jealousy, insecurity, fits of rage, and rash decisions. Reading his story is
like watching a car careening out of control in slow motion. The wreck is
inevitable. It’s easy for us to judge Saul – but let’s not forget: this man was
called by God. Chosen. Gifted. Annointed to be king.
How many of us are called, gifted and anointed to write… and
yet sabotage ourselves in the same way Saul did because we never develop the
strength of character to match our gifting?
The boy who dreamed
The story of Joseph gives me hope. Like many of us, he too
was a dreamer, called by God to a destiny beyond his ability to imagine. And
yet, at the beginning of Joseph’s tale, we find a prideful young man who
thought his dreams were all about him.
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| Image by sakhorn38 freedigitalphotos.net |
Remember the way he boasted to his family about the dreams
God had given him? Joseph thought he was pretty hot stuff. Through this
attitude he demonstrated his unreadiness to step into the very destiny he was
bragging about.
First, he had to be humbled and tested. Joseph needed to
learn how to serve God with excellence and humility in the lowliest of
positions: as a slave in a foreign land, and then a prisoner. He needed to do
this even when no-one was watching and the world had seemingly forgotten his
existence. He developed his character through suffering, obscurity, and endless
years of waiting. And through this painful process, Joseph realised his dreams
weren’t all about him. They were about what he could do to help and serve
others.
When Joseph had learned this lesson – when his character finally measured up to his calling – it was then that God promoted him.
A call to character
Let’s be Josephs, not Sauls. In this in-between time of
waiting on our dreams, let’s make a conscious choice to grow in character so
we’re ready to step through the door of our destiny.
Here are some things to work on as we wait:
1. Pride
The world esteems people with gifts and talents, and it’s
easy to get sucked into this mindset and let ourselves get a big head from our achievements or the flattery of others. But actually, we can’t take credit for our abilities.
They’re a gift from God. We didn’t do anything to earn them. What we should
esteem is character, because that’s something we have to work at to
develop.
How we handle praise is a test. If we let it puff up our
egos now in obscurity, how will we handle the praise of many? The pressure of
notoriety? The Bible teaches that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the
humble. Like Joseph, we won’t be promoted until we’ve learned the lesson of
humility.
2. Insecurity
Paradoxically, this often goes hand-in-hand with pride. God
doesn’t want us to be insecure any more than he wants us to be proud – one day
up, the next day down, blown about by the winds of others’ opinions or the
conflicting voices inside our own heads. He wants us to be humble and
confident. Humble, because his gifts are undeserved. And confident, because He
is a good God and has given us everything we need to succeed.
Saul suffered constantly from feelings of not being “good
enough” to be king. He hid amongst the baggage at his own coronation ceremony. Because he was so insecure in himself, he felt threatened by anyone else who
came along displaying any sort of ability or gifting. If only he had realised
that his worth didn’t come from his title or his abilities as king. Our worth
never comes from what we do. Our worth is inherent, because we’re children of
God.
3. Jealousy
You can see already how this flows out of insecurity. It’s all too easy to compare
ourselves to others on the publication journey – “She found an agent before me”
or “He’s finalled in more contests.” Stop the comparison game. If we don’t nip this in the bud, later on
we’ll be comparing publishing houses, advance sizes, marketing budgets, copies
sold, and number of contracts. The jealousy battle won’t stop once you’re
published – the stakes will just get higher, the comparisons more marked.
4. Discouragement
Likewise, this won’t stop once you’re published. I’ve heard
a successful author published in the CBA say, “This industry will chew you
up and spit you out.” Another one says, “Rejection
doesn’t stop once you’re published. It just hurts worse.”
Our joy and contentment can’t come from our circumstances,
or life will be a roller-coaster ride of disappointments. We need to learn to
be content where we are before God will promote us.
In the face of rejections, can you encourage yourself in the
Lord? David did this in his darkest moments before he became king. And once he
learned how to do that, everything turned around for him (1 Samuel 30:6). God responds to faith
and thankfulness, not fear and ingratitude.
5. Abide
Lastly, develop the ability to abide in him. Make God the center and the compass of your
life. If he’s not, you’ll be thrown off course the minute the first storm hits.
Do you have what it takes to ride out the rough waters of the publishing
industry? With God as your center, then yes, you do. Practice this when it’s
easy, so you have the steady strength to stand firm when it’s hard.
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| Image by Christian Meyn, courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net |
The chrysalis
The chrysalis is a chamber of waiting. A place of
transformation.
In the chrysalis of a Monarch butterfly, the caterpillar
literally dissolves into slime. It has to die to itself in order to enter the
next phase of its destiny.
What are you doing in the chrysalis to prepare your
character so you’re ready to step into your destiny?
Karen Schravemade lives in Australia. When she's not chasing after two small boys or gazing at her brand-new baby girl, she spends her spare minutes daydreaming about the intricate lives of characters who don't actually exist. Find her on her website, on Twitter or getting creative over at her mummy blog.
