Amy Carroll » Ministry Development » Reader Question 4

Reader Question 4

The questions keep coming, and I love it! You can send yours too by either leaving it as a comment or sending me an email at [email protected].

Christy started this week’s  question with some history. She is a mature Christian who has sat under her Pastor/husband’s teaching for decades. She’s gotten great training through Compel for her writing and also some wonderful feedback from editors at magazines and publishers. Christy is also as She Speaks grad where she got positive feedback in her speaker coaching group.

In other words, she has some ministry momentum! What an awesome place to be! But then…

I had a BLAST speaking in Renee’s group and got good feedback there. (God led me to Ezekiel 37-LOVE that passage!!) And even received good feedback from the publishers.

God was clear I knew it wasn’t time to put a cover around my book yet. I was also convinced that maybe He didn’t want me to speak, or I didn’t want to if I was just going to ruin His name by doing so.

And He SAID this. “Surrender.”

I want to speak life and truth and encouragement, but God said “Not here, not now.” I know God can direct me elsewhere…or no where…and I am okay with it. But I am still processing it and don’t fully know what to do with it. In your journey have you ever experienced anything like this?  ~Christy

I sure have, Christy, so I know how hard it is! For me, that time came after I had joined the P31 speaker team, and my first book proposal made it all the way to the final hurdle at the publisher. The night before that final meeting, the acquisitions editor (who I adore to this day), called me, talked me through how it all would go, and even discussed contracts and the next steps. It sure did look like momentum to me, and I was stoked!

Imagine how I felt the next day when she called me and told me that the marketing executive had shut the whole meeting down despite the excitement in the rest of the room. He said that the book would never sell, and that was it.

Total sadness.

But do you know what happened right after God asked me to surrender my dream of writing a book and a larger platform?

Next Step Speaker Services.

Yep, that’s when He inspired me with a new purpose and something I love more than all the other parts of my ministry. I’m so thankful that the other pieces were put on hold for a while. (I’m guessing your speaking and writing story isn’t over either!) Lots of good stuff happened in that time of surrender and waiting.

I developed a ministry that wouldn’t have happened if I had been working on other things.

God shaped some aspects of my character that needed work. (Not my favorite project, but essential!)

My platform grew a little which was important when I eventually published.

He totally changed the subject of my first book.

There’s probably a myriad of other things God accomplished during that time that I didn’t even recognize, but you can see that even what I do understand was BIG.

I don’t know what God is going to do during this wait, but be encouraged that He is accomplishing something wonderful that will be for your good. Your ministry story isn’t finished, but it’s not over either!

Anybody else out there want to weigh in on surrender and waits? This is a great topic, and we want to hear your stories!

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One Comment

  1. Christy, I feel your pain! I am involved with a book project on the secular side and the organization I’ve been working with cancelled our contract with the publisher. We are still trying to get this reconciled. I’ve been mad, frustrated, confused, etc. But I also realized that I’ve been trying to do this on my own. After all, it is a secular text, right? What a reminder that I need to involve God in all areas of my life, secular included. I need to rely on Him and not myself. I sure hope this still gets published, but I’m letting go of it emotionally a bit.