Who Measures Success pt 1

“Without the assistance of the Divine Being…I cannot succeed.  With that assistance, I cannot fail.”

 –Abraham Lincoln

Just a few hours before reading that quote, I had read a familiar story in the Bible.  A man had brought his demon possessed son to the disciples, hoping against hope that they might be able to cast out the evil spirit.  They tried, but could not.  This was fairly strange, especially considering that the disciples had done this kind of thing before.  In fact, earlier in that same passage (Luke 9), Jesus had bestowed upon them authority over the demons of hell.  So what went wrong?  After Jesus had healed the boy himself, his disciples asked why they had been unable to do it.  Jesus told them that this type of power comes only through prayer. 

In other words, for the disciples to experience success, they needed God’s power.  I believe that they tried to cast out the devil in their own power, and they failed.  Jesus had to remind them that unless they stay plugged into Him, they could not ultimately succeed.

Then I read Lincoln’s quote, and it was the exclamation point that God put on the statement He was sending me.  Let me explain what I mean by this.  As many of you know, I have been working to get a children’s book published.  It is a story about my niece, her death, and her first few days in heaven.  You can find out more about it on Facebook.  The book is called Heavenly Magic.  Anyway, I have been working with a self-publishing company for several months now, and the book will be on the market in a few weeks.

My desire is that this book will be picked up by a traditional publishing company, become a best seller, and open the door for me to present other works. On Thursday of this past week, I spoke with a marketing advisor, and he told me that a traditional publishing company wants to know that an author can bring in customers, so he suggested that I promote the book through social media, facebook, twitter, etc.  I am not computer savvy at all, so this overwhelmed me a little bit.  Then this old boy dropped the hammer.  He said that I needed an audience of about 50,000 people.  What?  Are you kidding me?  After speaking with this guy for an hour, I was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted.  How in the world am I going to do this?  One “like” at a time I guess.

So I go to work this past weekend, building my audience.  I get on Facebook and practically beg people to like and share my Heavenly Magic page.  I start a Twitter account and follow people, hoping that they will follow me in return.  I determine to start posting a blog once or twice a week.  I buy Michael Hyatt’s book, Platform, and start reading it.  I ask friends to help me understand all the social network jargon.  I do everything I know to do, except one thing.  I did not pray.  I just went to work, because I have an agenda, and there is no time to waste. 

So Sunday evening comes, and my gracious God allows me to read Luke 9 and a quote from Abraham Lincoln, and He says, “Do you get my point?”

Now do not misunderstand, I know that  God has told me to write, has commissioned me to write, and I believe God will use my writing to help people, but He also wants me to know that I will not be successful if I do it in my own power.    

So if I pray and follow God’s leading, then I am guaranteed that a major publishing company will want to publish my book, right?  Well, no.  It could happen, but it might not.

 

So let me process this, I know that God wants me to write, has called me to write.  I have this story that I am promoting and committing to Him, I am seeking His wisdom and following His lead, and this book still might not get picked up by a major publishing company?

Wouldn’t that make this whole thing a failure?  Well, it kind of depends on how you measure success.

To be continued…