Sometimes God Raises You Up Simply So You Can Make a Bigger Sacrifice . . .

Photo by Jason Train

Sometimes, you feel like you're wandering through life without any clue where you're going.

Other times, magic starts happening and you feel unstoppable.

My time in Nashville this past year has been an even mix. The beginning was extremely hard. I felt a little lost, a little lonely—and a lot afraid. 

But so far, the second half has been nothing short of a miracle. 

I want to tell you my crazy Nashville story, and the valuable secret about God I've learned from it.

Now...I Have to Admit Something.

The first six months of my time in Nashville were really hard.

I moved here to pursue music and writing. Six months later I was waiting tables at a hotel without being any closer to either goal. I had given up on music, and I was just trying to blog once a week and keep aiming at “writing my book,” whatever that meant.

The whole “having no clue what I want my life to look like” thing caught up with me.

And I was miserable. I felt like I had failed, I felt stupid for putting this dumb plan together (moving, taking a crap job, and writing) instead of looking for a “real job” before my internship ended.

The whole time, I felt like God was saying “wait and trust.”

But trust wasn't on my radar. I trusted in the job boards. I trusted indeed.com. That was my ticket out of this mistake. 

So instead, fear became the cadence of my life.

Fear that writing wasn't going to work out. Fear that I was missing out on something great back home. Fear that my resume was getting destroyed because I was waiting tables.

But 4 Months Ago...Everything Changed.

One day, as I was perusing a business blog I follow, I came across a guest post called "How to Get Awesome Results from a Low-Traffic Blog." I was intrigued. So I clicked and began to read.

The post was so good, I decided to send an email to the guy who wrote it.

As it turns out, that guy had left his writing job 3 days ago which turned out to be in Nashville, and he ended up asking me if I wanted to apply for it.

Um...yes. Yes I do.

I'm now working for an author management company run by a man who has done some remarkable things in the publishing industry. I feel so blessed that God put me in a place to learn how to write the book I feel He's called me to write...alongside people who have had major success doing it.

If you want to hear more about it, shoot me an email or leave a comment and we can have a nice chat :-)

But I believe God's BIGGEST lesson in all this...is about what comes after the blessings.

See, I don't think God put me here so I'd have a nicer life.

I think He put me here so I'd be in a position to give more of myself and make a bigger sacrifice.

Let me explain.

God Used the Book of Esther to Show Me This.

What? You mean like the book of Esther? What's that book even about?

That's what I said too.

Around the time I was feeling desperate, my friend Pua invited me to read Esther with her. She felt like God had a message for her in there, but she didn't know what it was. Naturally, I ran over to read it, because I wanted to figure it out before she did...

And that's when I found something that slapped me across the face. Let me set this up for you:

Esther was a poor Jewish girl living right smack in the middle of Persia. She had no parents, and her cousin Mordecai looked after her. They were both slaves.

All of a sudden, the king of Persia needed another queen. He looked all over Persia to find the woman he wanted to marry. And somehow...he chose Esther.

One minute, a slave—the next, a queen.

Esther's Purpose for Becoming Queen...Was to Risk Her Life.

At first glance, it seems like God decided, "Esther, you get to have a comfortable life of power and wealth. Have fun!" But when you look closer...God had much bigger plans. 

Right around the time Esther became queen, this evil guy named Haman tricked the king into sentencing every Jew in Persia to death.

People were horrified. In a few short months, every Jew in Persia would be exterminated.

Mordecai told Esther, "You have to do something! We're all going to be killed! Please, go talk to the king."

But an uninvited audience with the king was an automatic death sentence. The only way around it was if the king held up his golden scepter. But the king hadn't called Esther in for over a month. There was no way of knowing whether he even liked her anymore.

As Esther frantically told Mordecai how dangerous it was, he simply said:

"Who knows but that you've come to royal position for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14)

And I love Esther's reply:

“...Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16)

Esther chose to risk it. And she set into motion a turn of events that saved every Jew in Persia from being murdered.

Here’s something interesting I noticed. Esther wasn’t raised up so that she could have an easier life. She was raised up so she could be in the position to make the sacrifice she was meant to make.

Not so she could have more fame, fortune, and fun. So she could help God's people.

And I Think That's God's Message for Us, Too.

God's given me a unique opportunity to learn about writing a book from the best in the business. And I know it's not a mistake that I'm learning these things.

But it's not just to make my life better. It's not just to learn how to make money. It's not the "Prosperity Gospel."

It's to learn how God wants me to give my life away.

It seemed like, through Esther, God was saying:

"I'm going to bring you into this place for a very important reason. And I want you to stay alert for the reason why you're learning how to do these things, because you're going to need to know how to do them when I ask you to sacrifice for me."

My time. My energy. My comfort. I want to be willing to give them away. If I get the chance to do something extremely impactful one day, I want to be willing to make that impact by working harder, risking more, and staying alert for whatever God calls me to do.

Wherever you are in your journey, I think God wants the same from you. When God blesses you with something great, keep an eye out for the purpose behind it.

This Will Be My Last Post for a Little While.

For a few months, I'm going to be taking a blogging hiatus. I'm going to focus on learning as much as I can. And when I come back, I'll have a revamped website and a new ebook.

If you've enjoyed reading the blog, I want to ask you to sign up for the newsletter so we don't lose touch (Just type your info into the orange bar at the top of the screen). I won't blow your inbox up, promise :-)

I'd hate to miss out on connecting with you when I come back, and I'll almost certainly have my ebook by then as well. It's called The Young Life Leader Survival Guide, and it's almost finished. 

I'll be sending everyone on my email list a free copy. I want you to have one!

(IMPORTANT: Check your email for a confirmation message immediately after you join.)

The new blog will focus on my deepest passion—helping people discover their purpose.

I hope you'll join me in a few months—Let's continue journeying together.