Hidden Influence

"Hey, you got some press the other day! ____ brought you up at a meeting of leaders, and then sent that thing you wrote to all of them!"

"Really! I had no idea." Upon further reflection, I'm glad that I didn't. That's not why I wrote that piece; and its not why I write.

The particular blog in question was written out of obedience to prompts in my spirit from His Spirit to put the pen to the page regarding the cost of calling with an encouragement to persevere. I wrote is as much as an exhortation to myself as to others.

Do we do what we do for effect, or do we do it out of obedience because we've been commanded to "Let our lights shine before men that they may see our good deeds and praise our father in Heaven" (Matthew 5:16), AND, perhaps more importantly, do we do our good deeds in secret, trusting that Father will reward us, and therefore not seek, clamor for or become disappointed when no recognition from others is forthcoming?

Motives...why do you do what you do? If other than for His pleasure, His purpose and His Glory may I be effectively corrected by ministrations of His Spirit...the same Holy Spirit that prompts toward good deeds.

I know why ____ didn't share that he was going to share my writing with others. Because that's not the point. It's not the point to draw attention to what we do for God, but rather to God Himself, to His Word and His truth.

Are you ok with hidden influence, or do you need the stage? Another friend confided that he could take or leave the stage, but he is in a season of life that repeatedly calls him to the stage. And so he is willing, time after time, to speak about the reasons for the hope he has, and to exhort large groups of people to work in unity for the greater good. That's what he's excited about...the mission, not himself as a man who gets to be at the center of it.

With a new day before us how will you serve His purposes? Quietly? Will you/I be content to exert influence in His Name, even if it is hidden?

Preparing to live the first day of the rest of my life (as the sun peeks over the horizon!)

Jeff