Thanks to Matthew Reed for sharing this encouragement with TWC today.
Our culture wants us to produce, produce, produce. We live in a very high paced society and our culture has groomed us into being a factory of production. Many people like me are very driven. We like to succeed and succeed quickly. The taste of success is the “high” that we terribly desire over the process. The problem is that we can’t sustain the “high” of success and MORE importantly the Lord is more concerned with the process of our dreams being fulfilled than He is the end result. Our heart is His focus, not our talent. Granted, God has given us those desires, and we are to work hard towards them. My thoughts are in regards to slowing down, realizing our dreams may not be immediate.
Sometimes knowing what God has called you to (dreams/calling) can be the very stumbling block to fulfillment. What do I mean? Well, we all have desires and a plan that we believe God has for us. I believe He has called us all to bigger and better things. However, it’s in the waiting and knowing of what God has called us to that we end up steering off course and losing sight. In the middle of our hard work, we don’t see progress; we don’t feel we measure up to others… We lose sight of the process.
After releasing my record a year ago, I was blessed to have “moved” a lot of my music to the general public. I sold a good amount of records and was able to give away a ton of my music for free. My first-ever record debuted at #18 on iTunes Christian/Gospel, around 26,000 people downloaded the single “Awake, Awake,” and my music video “Crash This Place” got placed on rotation on broadcast TV. These numbers aren’t here to brag, but to give you a foundation of how one can lose sight. I am learning that it’s only by God’s grace that any platform is given or that anyone would listen to my records.
I let the taste of success become my focus… With much label interest, I let the “signing” of a record/publishing deal become my focus and meter of success. I had a taste of the end result, but I know God has bigger and better things for me in the process. Not that record deals are bad, but if that desire makes you lose sight of Him, you need to refocus, re-shift, and rethink. God has called me to Himself as a son first and foremost. I believe there are certain areas of my own dreams I need to give up control and trust in God’s timing. I have been guilty of trying to do a lot of things in my own strength, but I know a God-promotion is the best kind of promotion to receive. I need to sit back, let God work, and keep working hard. All that to say, I am realigning my thoughts on music, my career, my family, and the church. I let the taste of success cloud my vision and what my true calling is. I am called to serve His bride, and I will do my best to keep Him the focus, and not the art or the dream.
Don’t lose sight of the process, God is in the details and the timing. Keep working hard, but not in your own strength. Give up control. God’s timing is the best timing.
What has God been teaching you about your dreams? What has gotten in your way to hear His voice clearly? Has God been speaking to you about the timing of your dreams being fulfilled? Have you lost sight of the process?
Matthew Reed is a songwriter and worship leader based in Nashville, TN. While not on the road or recording, he spends most of his time writing and producing songs for the local church with some of Nashville’s great songwriters and artists. His debut EP, Come and Drink, was produced by Michael Rossback (Paul Baloche, Gungor, Jared Anderson) and features the church anthem “Crash This Place.” http://bit.ly/comeanddrink …Follow him on Twitter @mattreed, join him at Facebook.com/matthewreedmusic
