If by Mark Batterson

Author:Mark Batterson [Batterson, Mark and Parker Batterson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: REL012000
ISBN: 9781493401536
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2016-02-12T05:00:00+00:00

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When my first book was published nearly a decade ago, I recruited a team of people to pray pretty much constantly that my books would get into the right hands at the right time. Millions of books and thousands of letters later, the sovereignty of God never ceases to amaze me. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a member of Congress circling the Capitol in prayer, the coach of a top-ranked football program challenging his players to go all in, or a convicted felon chasing a lion.

Each one is an answer to prayer.

Each one is an unexpected benefit.

One of my favorite stories involves a relatively well-known Hollywood actress, Megan Fox. Shortly after The Circle Maker released, someone sent me a link to People magazine online. They told me to scroll down and take a close look at the photograph of Megan coming off an escalator at the airport in Rio de Janeiro. In the photo, paparazzi are waiting for her at the bottom, and Megan is shielding herself with a book—my book. Now, is that why I wrote it? To shield a Hollywood actress from the paparazzi? No, no it’s not. And I sure hope she read it on the way to Rio. But hey, if it doubles as an invisibility cloak for a Hollywood celebrity, so be it.

One of the fun things about writing is unintended consequences.

When I hit Save and Send on the final edit, the book isn’t just out of my hands and in the hands of my publisher. It’s in the hands of God. And I trust Him to put it into the right hands at the right time.

This is one we all know pretty well:

Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.5

Why did the farmer plant the mustard seed in the ground?

My best guess is that he liked mustard on his hot dog—it was a culinary-motivated decision. There’s nothing wrong with putting mustard on your dog, as long as there’s some hot peppers, a pickle, some tomatoes, onions, and a sesame bun. This I’m sure of: it had absolutely nothing to do with birds finding a place to nest. I bet he didn’t think about having a positive impact on the soil. That thought never crossed the farmer’s mind. But when you plant your seed of faith, you never know where it will branch or who it will bless. It’s beyond your consequential capacity to even hazard a guess. But I promise you this—there will be unexpected benefits beyond your ability to ask or imagine.

That’s the exponential nature of faith. God uses our seeds of faith to accomplish things we didn’t even set out to do. It’s kind of his thing.

If you asked me why National Community Church was started, I could offer the textbook answer. We exist to help people become fully devoted followers of Christ. But what amazes me most about NCC are the things God has done that we didn’t set out to do.

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