Are You Called to be Famous For God?
A DESIRE TO BE KNOWN
Here’s an embarrassing fact. When I was little, maybe third and fourth grade, I used to hold concerts in my backyard. Concerts featuring special guest, Mariah Carey. Only my swing set was the stage and I was starring as Mariah. In the flesh, ladies and gentlemen. I would belt “Always Be My Baby” into the afternoon sky and then await the applause of my adoring, invisible fans. After all, I was going to be famous when I grew up and I needed to practice. Famous for what exactly? Singing or dancing, I supposed, or anything that could be equally glamorous.
I have a clear memory that stems somewhere from that season of feeling genuine pity for the adults I knew who were not famous. How utterly insignificant they must feel, I reasoned from somewhere deep within my preadolescent brain.
Fast forward past some really rough junior high years and a terrible freshmen year in high school to age 15. At this point in my life, a friend invited me to church. Relentlessly. Honestly, I wanted nothing to do with it. Until I found out a certain cute boy went to that church. I slapped on some lip gloss, laced up my Doc Martens, and arrived 10 minutes early.
On my very first visit, I met someone with whom, to this day, I’ve carried on a mad love affair. His name is Jesus. To me, there’s truly no sweeter name. After giving my life to Him that November night, I walked out very literally changed from the inside out. Nineteen years have passed and I’ve not been the same since.
During my college days, I still had an ember of that desire to be famous. I rationalized that I would use this desire to pursue becoming “famous for God.” You know, writer, blogger, speaker. Basically, I wanted to be Beth Moore. I needed to get my name out there so I could tell people about God’s glory! I knew no other platform than that of having a little pageant and modeling experience, so I dove headfirst into sparkles and photoshoots. It never amounted to more than a few promotional modeling gigs and some county pageant titles. Dust in the wind, as my friend, Kansas, would say.
Thankfully, I really did have an encounter with the TRUE living God at age 15. Though I had some rough edges and broken places to work through, He continued His transformation work within me. Even in my self-promotional modeling days, He was remodeling my heart. By His grace alone, I found myself involved with several campus ministries throughout those college years. My love for Christ grew by leaps and bounds. I was hungry for His truth—hungry to be filled by Him alone, instead of the world’s counterfeit contentment. And around that time, I gained insight that the heartache I had known in my personal life was meant for His glory. I decided to pursue a career as a counselor.
A SHIFT IN GLORY
The sanctification process is a beautiful thing. Between then and now, lots of life has happened. Good, bad, and ugly. I have a practice as a Christian therapist. I have a kind husband who loves me. We are raising four fabulous children. But, hands down, the best gift I’ve received to date is not my family or my career. The best gift I’ve been given is Jesus.
Jesus who did not leave me where He found me. Jesus who pursued me when I pursued folly. Jesus who whispers to me that this world is backwards; that fulfillment is found in Him alone.
It’s evident from reading the Bible that the Kingdom of Heaven is upside down. It’s a kingdom with a Lamb on a throne. One in which the first become last and the last become first; those who exalt themselves are humbled and those who humble themselves are exalted. In our world, success comes from self-promotion. In the realm of all things social media, anyone can erect a monument to themselves. But, as it says in one of my favorite lines from The Incredibles, “when everyone is super…no one is.”
If Spirit-filled believers began to pursue their Father’s work at the same intensity with which we pursue self-promotion on social media, the world would be turned upside down. That’s a good thing, for when the world gets turned upside down, it begins to look a little more like the Kingdom of Heaven.
1 Thessalonians 4:11 recently poured out of my bible and into my soul with such sweet refreshment:
Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, as you’ve been instructed.
Over the past few years, the Lord has taken my restless desire to be famous—in every sense of the word—and replaced it with true contentment. I’m more than satisfied in Him alone; something I always heard Christians say, but never fully understood. Until now. For the first season in my life, I’ve found true rest. I’ve no desire to self-promote or compete. I even enjoy long breaks from social media and speaking engagements in which I disappear into quiet time with God alone.
As for being “famous for God”? Well, should God ever decide to elevate some aspect of my life, may it be born of His will and not of my striving. What remains as my driving force is the desire to go about my Father’s work with gusto each new day.
“I’m just a nobody trying to tell everybody about somebody who can save anybody… I’m living for the world to see nobody but Jesus.”- The Williams Brothers
What motivates you to do what you do each day? If you are striving to be known, know this today:
YOU ALREADY ARE.
XOXO
Lindsey
