“Don’t wear yourself out to get rich; because you know better, stop!” Proverbs 23: 4

Ugh, Lord. Just ugh.

Your Word got me right in the gut. And I couldn’t ignore it because I’d stopped and prayed before I opened my Bible for my heart to be tender to what I read this morning in Proverbs, Jeremiah, and Ephesians. And as so often happens, the messages all came together to say the same thing. “You’re Mine, Elizabeth. I have put a new covenant in your heart. I am the One who redeems. Your part is to hang out with me. You’re saved by grace. Stick around with me. Abide in Me.”

But those first verses in Proverbs 23 got me on this track. I love the direct, almost sassy tone of verse 4 in the Christian Standard Bible version. Don’t do it! You know better than that! Stop!

It reminds me of something I would say to my sons when they were still under our roof.

Usually verses about getting rich don’t actually pierce my heart. It’s not been one of my major goals in life. First, by the standards of probably 99% of the world, I am rich. Very rich. I’m white, I’m educated, I have two jobs, I have a house, a loving family, I am healthy, and in spite of the craziness of the world right now, I feel safe.

I am very, very rich.

But that’s not why I groaned as I read this verse. It was the way I interpreted those words. Don’t wear yourself out to get rich. In my mind, I immediately heard this: Don’t wear yourself out to get readers.

Sigh.

Because more and more in the past few years, that’s what the writing life has felt like. Not the freedom to create stories of hope and redemption, but the mind-bending pressure to be present on every form of social media possible so that I can “grow my brand”, “get new ‘likes’”, “find my audience”.

No matter how we spin the phrase, the bottom line is: “It’s up to you, dear author, to get more readers. Why? Because if you don’t, you won’t get any more contracts from a traditional publisher. It’s all a “numbers” game. You may be a gifted author, but if your books don’t sell, you don’t really stand a chance of continuing.”

Lord, You know I’m willing to work hard. You know how I and my many other wonderful writer friends have poured ourselves into not only writing novels of hope and redemption but also wearying our souls at trying to be savvy businesswomen. It’s not really our gifting though, and yes, it wears us out.

Don’t get me wrong. You know that we are over-the-top thankful for our readers. I especially feel blessed by the twenty-five-years’-worth of encouraging, heart-rending and heart-warming letters and emails and whispered confidences I’ve gotten from readers.

We all appreciate these. And frankly, sometimes it’s the only thing that keeps us going.

I’m involved in several writers’ online groups to help us figure out how to support each other and introduce our readers to each other’s writing (without looking like we’re trying to get more readers, of course, because that would seem prideful) so that we can keep being published. And yes, make a little money to support our families.

So You see, dear Lord, why these words from Your Word pierced my soul today. Sometimes I do feel completely worn out with the marketing side of this career. I say to myself and to You over and over again, “Lord, everyone has parts of his or her job that they don’t enjoy. I just have to buck up and keep going.”

But today, what I hear from You is something that my publisher and agent have said for years, “Do what you enjoy, Elizabeth, as far as all the social media is concerned. Don’t wear yourself out trying to get new readers. Just write your heart. Throw it out to people in the way you do so well, and trust Me.”

It’s really a matter of my mind and heart, isn’t it, Lord? You’re not saying to quit doing my part in all this. But You’re reminding me to give the burden back to You. I will do what I can. I’ll smile to write these blog posts because these are things You are teaching me, ways You are touching my heart which may touch other hearts too.

And I’ll delight to share photos on Instagram and Facebook because I’m a gal who loves beauty and yes, a picture can paint a thousand words.

So I’ll share my words and my photos and I’ll brainstorm with my precious writer friends and we’ll pray together. And then, I’ll take a deep breath, today, tomorrow, and on and on, one day at a time, and trust You with the results.

Because…You know better, so much better than I do, Lord.

PS To my readers: Never doubt how grateful I am for YOU!

ELIZABETH MUSSER writes ‘entertainment with a soul’ from her writing chalet—tool shed—outside Lyon, France. Find more about Elizabeth’s novels at www.elizabethmusser.com and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and her blog. + ​