The desire for success in your labor is not, in itself, a thing to be despised, but examine well the foundation of this desperation. Why so frantic for the approval of men? Every blessing comes to us with the hallmark of Sovereign Grace upon it, not because we have merited it, but because of His infinite goodness. Trace the election of His grace to the bottomless abyss of His own love, and you will see that the Lord may do as He wills with His own. To cry out for a blessing upon your career is to ask for that which He alone can give, but be certain that the aim of every spiritual blessing is your holiness. If these books and articles serve only to exalt yourself, you are building with wood, hay, and stubble. But if, in the writing, you long to perfect holiness in the fear of God, then there is a promise for you: "I will bless you, and you shall be a blessing."
First, then, get the blessing yourself. How can you scatter seed from an empty basket? Until it can be said to you, "I will bless you," it cannot be said, "You shall be a blessing." Have you known the purifying power of the death of Christ? Does the crucified Lord crucify your sins? Do you desire to be obedient, and prove that desire by your actions? These are the marks of one who possesses eternal life. If you are made a partaker of the divine nature, you receive an undying life, and your paramount aim becomes not the puffing up of a career, but the spreading abroad of the savor of His name. Oh, that you might plunge into the depths of this truth, not merely skim its surface!
The fear of man brings a snare, and desperation is its close cousin. This anxiety is very dishonoring to our holy religion in the eyes of unbelievers. Are you not a child of the heavenly Father? Then why such terror? The fear of death is natural to the sinner, but it is not necessary to the saint. The same may be said of the dread of poverty or obscurity. Happy is the man who is in a prepared state, ready for whatever the Lord appoints. Use the telescope of faith: look beyond the present moment to the eternal weight of glory. The main objective in all our work is that we get near to God and really serve Him, not that we grasp at a passing repute.
Certainly, the Lord is able to make your work a channel of blessing. See the result of one man’s grand act of obedience in Abraham, and note how God can make that man to be a blessing to all coming ages. Lydia, with her open heart and open home, became the cornerstone of the church at Philippi. The jailer was brought from darkness into marvelous light all of a sudden. The Lord has His ways, and by waiting we may find out the true path of success. Do not force the door; let patience have her perfect work. Perhaps a quiet corner of patient toil, where prayer is made, will prove more fruitful than the clamorous marketplace.
Lay this request before the Throne with honest lips. Come not to the house of God as the Pharisee, parading your need, but as the publican, crying for mercy. The preaching of the Gospel is like the setting up of a Throne of Judgment, and the Word discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. If your motive is simply to secure a career, you may gain it and yet have leanness sent into your soul. But if you desire that your pen be a staff to the weary, a light to the blind, a reproof to the obstinate, then God speeding your testimony, you shall be a blessing. Set your face like a flint against sin, and let the reward be in His hands.
The blessing of the High Priest is still pronounced upon His people. There went forth a divine power from Aaron’s benediction because it was not of his own composing. So it must be with your writing. It must be born of the Spirit, not of the flesh. Wait upon the Lord for the message. Plead the sacrifice and sprinkling of the blood, and then the music of the blessing will sound in your ears. You may be a very little one in your own eyes, yet the Lord can make you a blessing by giving words of comfort to the distressed. That is a far sweeter portion than the applause of the critic.
Therefore, bring this desperation to the cross. The double blessing of grace and peace comes from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Do not seek a blessing apart from the channel He has appointed. Let your soul be receptive, like good ground that soaks in the rain, not like the rock that repels it. Beware of a grace-resistant heart that hears the truth so long that it no longer trembles. Certain points of God’s truth may disturb your settled views of success; do not wear blinkers for fear of seeing too much. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. If He blesses these pages, they will prosper in their season. If He withholds that visible success for a time, He may be weaning you from the praise of men, that you may drink of those wines on the lees, well refined, in fellowship with the Man of Sorrows. I pray you may be delivered from all unholy fear, and that your labor may not be in vain in the Lord.