I sat there starting at the blank page in my journal,
“Ok, this is it. Here I go, I’m going to start…”
And then came the opposition…
“Who do I think I am? What do I have to give? What difference can I possibly make? I’ve never done this before. I can’t do this. I won’t be able to keep going. I will ultimately fail, so why bother even starting?”
Do you have inner doubts like that too? I have a sneaking suspicion that you know what I’m talking about. I don’t know about you, but the Whisper Campaign of lies sent from the enemy often comes in the ‘first person’, not the ‘third person’. They come across as thoughts I am having about myself. And the thoughts I was now having about myself were not encouraging thoughts.
I had felt the “niggle” of the Holy Spirit. I had sensed the “nudge” of God. I believed that he wanted me to do something I had not done before. Sure, I had faith to step out, but I also felt insecure. I felt intimidated. I felt afraid.
What was the niggle of the Holy Spirit about? What was the essence of the nudge of God? What did I sense the Lord was asking me to do?
Write.
I believed that the Lord wanted me to write bite-sized bits of Truth to encourage men. He caught my attention with Ephesians 1:18-20:
“I pray that the Lord will open the eyes of your heart that you might see the hope to which he has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incredibly great power that is at work in you.”
The Lord was nudging me to write short e-visionals to help open the eyes of men’s heart – to adjust their “Viz” to see the bigger picture. To encourage them and envision them in the Truth.
But I had not done anything like this before. Was I going to be able to do it? How do I do it?
I went away on a bit of a personal retreat, prayed, and began to write. I asked the Lord to help me find His heart, to discover what He wanted me to say. I had a niggle for the format: Tell a real life story. Draw out the lesson. Present the application. Apply scripture.
Ok, I could do that.
I wrote a list of 70 topics (stories) that I thought I could work with, and began to write. My BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) was to be able to write 1 “How’s the Viz?” every week for 7 years. If I could do that then I would have 1 e-visional for every day of the year. However, I really couldn’t imagine doing that. I was simply going to commit to writing 1 How’s The Viz? every week and see how long I could go.
Well, you know what? This is my 365th How’s The Viz?. It’s hard to believe. I have written every week for 7 years. That’s over a quarter of a million words. It’s over 1,000 Bible verses. It’s over 1,000 pages.
Wow – it’s hard to believe.
So, do I tell you this so somehow say I’m awesome?
No.
I tell you this to say that if I can step out into the niggle and nudge of God you can too. It’s been said that the journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step.
What is the niggle you are sensing? What is the Lord nudging you to do? What step do need you to take?
Take it.
Step out. Listen to the niggle of the Lord. Respond to His nudge. Enlist the help of your allies to help you and to keep you focused.
Then do it.
Commit yourself to keep moving forward. Take one step at a time. You can do that. Don’t let self-doubt hold you back. Don’t let the Whisper Campaign of the enemy take you out. The Lord will provide the grace you need to do the good work He has for you to do.
The lives of many are impacted by the courage of a few. Take courage.
So, how will you respond to the niggle and nudge of God?
Ephesians 2:10
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Philippians 2:13
“for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”
2 Corinthians 12:9
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”