February 9, 2024 marks FIVE years since God led me to launch this blog ministry, Learning To Live!
And in today’s blog post, I’m going to share the five Biblical lessons God has taught me throughout these five years of serving Him in this humble corner of the Internet!
Lesson #1: God’s Will Over People’s Opinions
Galatians 1:10 says:
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
(Galatians 1:10)
When God first called me and led me to start Learning To Live, the lesson of learning to please God and follow His will rather than trying to please people and their opinions was the biggest lesson I had to face first.
All around me people would give me their opinions on the blog ministry. Some would tell me to post more videos than written articles on the blog, others would tell me that doing this blog ministry was a waste of my time and life.
Meanwhile, some would encourage me to try to make Learning To Live as popular as possible (more on that later).
But in the midst of people’s varying opinions, God would challenge me with the words of Galatians 1:10–
For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
(Galatians 1:10)
Will I please God and follow His will for me when it comes to how I blog on Learning To Live? Or will I choose to please people and try to follow their man-made ideas and opinions for this blog ministry?
This was a lesson I had to learn (and still am continuing to learn) over and over again.
Lesson #2: Faithfulness Over Famous
In Luke 16:10, we read:
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
(Luke 16:10)
Another lesson that God taught me as I was learning how to put this blog ministry together was TO NOT FOCUS ON TRYING TO BE BIG AND POPULAR, BUT TO BE SIMPLE AND FAITHFUL.
God used the truth of Luke 16:10 to remind me that what mattered most to Him wasn’t how big the ministry was, or how many views a blog post got, but how faithful I was being in each little, humble duty this blog required of me day by day.
Lesson #3: Kingdom Growth Over Audience Growth
During the first few months of when I launched Learning To Live, I’d attend online seminars for bloggers to learn all the practical essentials behind running and managing a blog.
In many of these online seminars the emphasis would be primarily focused on “needing to grow your audience” as quickly as possible.
This emphasis would leave me feeling sad and discouraged over Learning To Live barely having an audience.
But then the Lord brought to my attention a beautiful lesson in Luke 15:7,10–
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
(Luke 15:7,10)
The Lord used these verses to encourage my heart to realize that the purpose of this blog ministry was to grow God’s Kingdom one soul at a time.
And since Heaven rejoices over one person who repents and turns to Christ, then I too should be happy even if only one person is quietly blessed by a blog article.
Lesson #4: Cultivating Over Complaining
Proverbs 27:18 says:
Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.
(Proverbs 27:18)
I vividly remember God leading me to this verse when I was complaining to Him about how slow the blog was going and how it seemed like nobody cared about it.
Through Proverbs 27:18, the Lord taught me to realize that my part in running this blog ministry was to simply cultivate (or “keep) this “baby fig tree” blog by faithfully posting and creating content for it, and to wait on the Lord for the fruits.
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
(Galatians 6:9)
Lesson #5: His Glory Over My Glory
I never shared this story before, but this was one of the most heart-convicting lessons God gave me as I reflect on these past five years of running Learning To Live.
One day I found out that a Christian podcast ministry in the Midwestern United States took the blog post on Haman and basically plagiarized it into a transcript for one of their podcast episodes.
At first I had mixed feelings when I found out.
A part of me thought it was funny, while another part of me was upset that they “stole” what I wrote and didn’t give me any credit.
But when I took the matter to the Lord in prayer, He reminded me of what happened in Luke 9:49-50:
And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.
(Luke 9:49-50)
The Lord then led me to what Paul wrote in Philippians 1:18–
What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
(Philippians 1:18)
Through these Bible passages God taught me that I shouldn’t consider this a “violation of intellectual property”, but rather I should see it as a blessing because more people are being touched by the truth as a result of this incident.
The Lord convicted my heart deeply through this situation that regardless of whether or not Learning To Live’s content is plagiarized, what matters is that HE is glorified.
It’s not about my glory and what I wrote, but HIS glory and what HE wrote through me.
Testimonies
Below are some comments and emails that have been sent to me over the last five years by people who’ve been blessed by this blog ministry that I’d like to share with you.
I praise the Lord for how He has led Learning To Live thus far, and I’m looking forward to seeing how He’ll lead this year and onward!
I recently discovered your Blog and I’m so thrilled! I can’t wait to read through the entries.……. May God continue to bless you in this wonderful ministry!
~Kris
Thank you for all you said. God is blessing your ministry–He blessed me.
~Bonnie
Hi, this article [Hunger Isn’t A Game] is well written and has helped me a lot.
~Cassey
Thank you so much you’ve encouraged me so much, so much to where I NEED to GET UP…..God bless you more.
~Jersey
Hi! I really enjoyed reading this series [Setting Our Hearts]! And I learnt something new! Thank you! God’s Blessings!
~Elizabeth
I just came across your blog tonight and read a couple of the devotionals and I just wanted to let you know how much I needed and appreciated them! I will definitely be coming back to read more.
~Jessica
I just want to say I love your writing so much and want to keep encouraging you for what you do! Your post [3 Bible Verses To Cure And Combat Pride] was very impactful. And your heart for ministry is an inspiration. Thank you!
~Elsha
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. They were a beautiful reminder of God’s promises and lessons in times of trial. Please keep writing and sharing. You are a blessing
~Sherry
Great is thy faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:23)
Amen! Maranatha!