Obscurity & Notoriety

I often get asked if I'm trying to build this platform of HeatherFerroni.com to be widespread, writing for a broader audience, and if I desire for public speaking and traveling. I shared my heart on this a bit in HeatherFerroni.com...REALLY?!

Here's the truth:

I've been writing for as long as I can remember. As I mentioned in Journaling the Journey and #FunFactFriday : How I Became a Writer my passion for writing is just the way I process. It's really just an overflow of the inflow; a product of what God is processing in me. The truth is, I've been blogging for about 15 years. Never has it been my desire to have an all-out massive reach...but if there's ONE heart that is encouraged and empowered by my words, then PRAISE GOD!

I am blessed to have a lot of friends that encourage me to take it to the next level. I'm so honored that they forward me messages to submit my work to more public platforms like Propel Women. As much as I would love to be a contributor, there's a still small voice in my heart that just tells me to wait, rest and be patient. I also have friends that coach me on the importance of social media "branding" in order to better aesthetically capture the attention of more people....

{I get it, I get it...but that's not my calling. I won't become distracted from what God has put on my heart to spend an obscene amount of time to learn how to arrange images on FB & IG to make myself into a "brand"...I am not a BRAND...I am a real-life, flawed yet called, messy messenger of the Most High God. He's making me into an author and a communicator, not a social media expert..........But if YOU are a gifted social media expert and want to accentuate your God-given gift, I'd be more than honored to align with you!}

My dear friend, prayer warrior and intercessor Stephanie gave me a word of encouragement last week.

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;" she reminded me of Colossians 3:23. She went on to remind me that it's perfectly acceptable to keep focused, eyes fixed on Jesus and stay anchored in hope that there will be a time of promotion when HE opens doors no man can shut. And that if and when breakthrough happens, many may assume overnight success when in reality, the Lord has been working to prepare me behind the scenes all my life. Same is true for YOU, dear friend! It will be GOD {not self promotion} that will bring us from obscurity to notoriety...blessing will be a result of obedience and HE will get the glory in the story. I refuse to rush the process. If God wants to position us in a place of prominence, He has that right. Our lives are no longer our own when we surrender to Jesus as LORD and Savior!

Check out one of my favorite humans ever, Christine Caine...she unpacks this topic so wonderfully!

The Holy Spirit led me on a discovery journey through the scriptures. He brought me to the place where the prophet Isaiah delivered a prophetic warning about Jerusalem. (Jerusalem was referred to as "The Valley of Vision"...how COOL is that?!)....in this prophecy, the Lord spoke through Isaiah to warn the people against impending attack if they did not return to Him and depend on HIM for protection. See, they were so focused on their own self reliance: their ingenuity, weapons, plans to protect themselves...they left God out and even started depending on their pagan neighbors.

"In that day, I will summon my servant, Elikim, son of Hilkiah. I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand him your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the people of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts, no one can open. I will drive him like a peg into a firm place; he will become a seat of honor for the house of his father. All the glory of his family will hang on him: its offspring and offshoots - all its lesser vessels. from the bowls to all the jars." -Isaiah 22:20-24

Application:

With notoriety (being well known, celebrity, fame, popularity, prominence, recognition, greatness, distinction, eminence, importance, significance) comes great sacrifice, criticism, judgment, assumptions, etc. Fame doesn't sound fun to me at all. I'm not striving for the spotlight by any means.

Obscurity (ambiguity, hidden, unknown, inconspicuous, unimportant, unrecognizable) is comfortable.

I'm sure Elijah preferred hiding in the cozy cave rather than risking his life to go toe-to-toe with King Ahab and the 450 false prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. {For more on this...check out #FridayFaves | Old Testament Story}

But here's the thing...we can only do so much to prepare for the attacks of this world, right? We can "check our walls" and "sharpen our swords" just as the people of Jerusalem did...but down at the core of our spirit, what's most important is that we depend FULLY on God to lead us, provide for us, protect us and promote us to a place of honor that grants us God-ordained authority, firmly secure for generations that come after us.

Pray. Work. Rest. Wait. Obey.

By the way, have you read "Own the Moment" by Carl Lentz yet?

I've been greatly encouraged by this real-talk, real-life, direct, relatable approach to how it is to be like Jesus in this beautifully strange world!

Purchase Own the Moment

Scripture references to further your study

Galatians 6:9 - Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
Isaiah 22:20-24
Nehemiah 6:3
Jeremiah 29:11
1 Samuel 15:22-24