How I got distracted from God’s calling

This is a difficult post to write, not because transparency is hard for me, but because I haven’t written a blog post in over 1 year. The reason for that is distraction. So today I’m exercising my writing muscles to tell you how I got distracted from God’s calling. And more importantly, how to get back on track to walking in His calling.

It all began 3.5 years ago, God called me to start this blog. Using my voice in this space was a huge step in faith for me. Doing something I’ve never done before held risks that took me far outside of my comfort zone. And in the past few years, I’ve learned that’s the very place we can be used & transformed by God.

So then, about 2 years ago, I started Instagram, my first social media page, in order to open up an avenue to share my writing and get more traffic to my blog. But let’s back track a little. At 40ish years old, I started my first social media page, did you catch that? The reason is because I never wanted to expose myself to the cons of social media, so I just avoided it all together. Roughly 2 years later, I deactivated my Instagram page for the very reasons I avoided it in the first place.

This post will take you through the spiritual maturity found in surrendering to the Lord. And it will also take you through how I got distracted from God’s calling. And more importantly, how to get back to a place of surrender and back on the narrow road that leads to life abundant.

God’s Calling

As I type out this subheading, I realize the dire need for a blog post dedicated to understanding God’s calling. So, I’ve made a note to get that going in the near future because in this post, I will share with you something specific that God called me to and how I got distracted from God’s calling.

The Bible is pretty clear about what God calls His people to live out in their lives as a testimony to their salvation. In addition to these things, the Lord will call each one of us to different things. Such as when the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, put heavily on my heart to start this blog, my hills and valleys. And in my surrender to His calling, or His will for my life, I matured in my faith. I learned how to stop doing things in my own limited and defective strength and really experienced surrender to walk by faith in the Lord’s strength. (That’s an actual thing by the way, not just a catchy phrase.)

“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” Philippians 4:13

By accepting the call & stepping out in faith to start writing here, God showed me that I could use my voice to do the things He calls us to as His followers. The Lord began to mature me spiritually in different ways. I discovered my voice and found my confidence in Him. He began opening doors for me to use my actual voice, as if writing was preparing me for something more. When God calls us to something it’s for reasons beyond our understanding. He is such a good and loving Father, He knows our strengths and weaknesses and He urges us to walk by faith, not by sight. He meets us right where we are and walks through the hills and valleys with us- if we allow Him to do so.

“I am with you always” Matthew 28:20

Distracted from God’s Calling

I feel like Instagram became the distraction that separated me from God’s calling. Although my followers grew to 30k and I was having fruitful conversations and planting seeds in the world – that doesn’t negate the fact that I allowed it to pull me away from this blog, where God called me. He didn’t call me to be a content creator on IG which is what I ultimately turned into. I was no longer writing blog posts and encouraging my followers to come here and read them. With that said, I do believe God was still working in that space. But my time and energy was used up there, not here. The Holy Spirit put this conviction on my heart and I avoided it for a long time because Instagram was easier. I didn’t have to worry about SEO and all of the technical aspects of having a blog and I justified it every time someone made me feel like I was making a positive difference in their life.

Instagram gave me immediate recognition and live conversations as opposed to having a blog. (So please comment or email me because I love hearing from you and creating a two way conversation!) And much like a rat race, I found myself on the emotional rollercoaster of comparison, insecurity and wanting to say the “next best thing.” Cringeworthy. These are all characteristics easily defined as feeding our flesh and not our Spirit. So I got to the point where I knew without a doubt, that I needed to walk away. This Holy Spirit conviction got so strong that I could no longer avoid it. So I found myself in the position of surrender to the Lord.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. Jeremiah 29:11-14

Instagram definitely began to feel like a place of captivity. That is not the goodness we find in Christ. It does not feel or look like captivity. In fact in Christ we are free from the bondage of society and of the flesh. We are not of this world, we are pilgrims in a foreign land.

Turning Back to God’s Calling

The good news here is that through the Helper that Jesus promised to us in John 14:26 I was able to redirect from being distracted and turn back to the Lord in surrender. He is faithful to us in this way! Has God called you to something that you’ve yet to surrender?

I never really walked away from God, I walked away from something specific that He called me to do in my life. And in order to turn back to God’s calling, it involved, turning away from something else. In this case, it was turning away from Instagram and turning back to my hills and valleys. The place God gave me to pour out my thoughts, heart and soul on digital paper in hopes of encouraging others. The place He gave me to use the gifts of exhortation and writing that He blessed me with – to be used for His glory, not my own.

Turning back to God or His calling often looks like repentance. To repent is to turn away from something and continue it no more. Social media is not inherently bad. But even good things can become bad or outside of God’s will and He is faithful to convict you of those things. The Holy Spirit will give you a feeling– in terms of peace of mind or unsettled heaviness.

Walking away from the Instagram page has allowed me to hear more clearly from the Lord. I was questioning, do I even continue with the blog? Convincing myself that maybe it was just for a season. And sitting here today, I do not know what God has in store for me and this blog but what I do know is that He hasn’t told me to stop writing. So while I may be out of practice and while I may have lost my enthusiasm, I believe I am still meant to be writing here.

Will I return to Instagram? Not any time soon. And if I do, it won’t be in the capacity I got to before I left. It would definitely be a Spirit led decision and boundaries would be put in place. Now that my kids are back in school (also a topic for another post), I have time to take to the keyboard and sort my thoughts out and I’m actually excited to do so.😄

What has God called you to specifically? Are you doing it? There is eternal purpose in that act of faith. Be encouraged to do just what He’s calling you to do because it’s there that you will uncover something you may not otherwise.

Thank you for taking time to read “How I got distracted from God’s Calling” If you enjoyed this post, you might like: “Have you forgotten your first love” Also, say hello below!