A blessed life isn’t a perfect life, but a surrendered one. Shelf Life.

The test of the life of a saint is not success, but faithfulness in human life as it actually is. A.W. Towzer

I once heard someone say, We create the expectations others put on us- and this led to deep reflection.

This statement is true. Earlier, while sitting on this flight, I thought about when I created my first bio for my book (2018). I referred to myself as a devout Christian, reared in the faith. I am sure I hinted at hardship, but there was this expectation of perfection. So to fail, or not feel faithful, was devastating. To include that prayer changes things, yet to live through circumstances where the circumstances in fact did not- but I did. The latter is for rejoicing, the former for disappointment.

It's never wise to give credence to someone who puts you on a pedestal because of your Christian faith or for you to exalt yourself in your mind or through accolades. What happens when life slows, and you feel as though you are put on a shelf?

The true test of a heart that is fully committed to God is longevity. It is resistance in the moments when it would be easier to give in to the pressure. It is remaining persistent in your Spiritual Disciplines when your heart is weary and your mind weighed down with the cares of this life.

The true test of our faith is not in who we believe we are, but who God says we are, and the daily, mundane task of just being a Christian. It's not in our wins, but in our striving toward perfection. But it's in the wait, in the longings to know God better, in the brokenness that is accompanied by grief that washes over us in waves.

Put on the Shelf…

A blessed life isn’t a perfect life, but a walk that has been surrendered to God.

Over the last few years, there has been a feeling of being placed on the shelf. I heard Dr. Charles Stanley use this phrase, “When God places you on a shelf”, and it was the perfect image of what life has been like for me lately. I have not spoken at a church or women's service in what feels like forever. I miss it. Not the stage but the faces of women. The hugs and conversations that followed the service. The hot wings in hotels and the process of studying and preparing.

Years ago, this would have made me sad, but today, there is joy. Although I have not spoken in churches or visited any women’s conferences as a speaker, I have drawn closer to the Lord and deepened my dependency on the Lord.

There is this security I know that has restored me to a meaningful purpose, even in obscurity. I have found true joy in the mundane—private conversations of the faithfulness of God and prayers for others, cleaning, and small tasks around the house. I’ve written three new devotionals for YouVersion. Weekly prayer calls for DiscipleHer and the school have been working out so far. But above all, I have learned to exist as a surrendered believer in Christ and to rest in contentment.

If you feel as though you are on a path you are unsure of, or if some dreams and desires have seemingly been put on pause as the Lord works out the kinks in your character through the sanctification and refining process, be encouraged. If this is true, then the shelf is the best place to be.

In a world that pushes for visibility through stages, platforms, counting numbers, views, and clicks as validation, God often does His best work in the dark. In John 12:24, KJV, the Bible says, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.'

The corn of wheat falls into the ground, into the darkness of the soil and moisture of uncomfortability, and it dies. But the death is only for what it was, as the new and fruitful life is what springs forth at the right time and the right season.

Trust the shelf-life process. God won’t let you expire there. The Lord’s mercy and purposes won’t fail, and He is renewing them each morning. The test of life as a saint is doing the next right thing and remaining steadfast in the process of development.

Be Encouraged,

“It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, Because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness.”

Lamentations 3:22-23 KJV