Why I’m Embracing “To God Be the Glory”

Hello tender friends!

If you’re a writer, you know that the words of Charles Dickens often apply to the writing life: it is the best of times and sometimes it is the worst of times.

I recently wrote a spate of articles that paid 5 cents a word. Yes, you read that correctly, and yes, that rate is well under the industry standard.

I actually didn’t mind at first because I found the topics interesting. But after a number of low-paying gigs, I started to grumble a bit. Like this.

I blamed AI, I blamed the fact that I don’t have a ton of time to write because I’m also a mom and farm wife- and while I didn’t exactly blame God- I did wonder why he wasn’t blessing me more. (Yes, I realize how absurd that is coming from someone who has never gone without food or shelter).

Then one day last week I felt led by the spirit to let go of my grumbling and trust God. I also felt led to pray out loud that I accepted writing as many articles for five cents a word as God chose. So I did.

I felt lighter afterwards, and I stopped worrying about whether or not I’d make enough money if I continued accepting low-paying work. I trusted that God would provide another way if He so chose.

Three days after praying that prayer, I received a contract to write five articles in 2024 at the industry standard rate for a total of $2K. This was God’s provision, I’m certain.

I’m certain this is the Lord’s provision because the opportunity was completely unsolicited by me. I didn’t have to do any work writing a cover letter or submitting a portfolio to get the gig. As a freelancer, I’m always the one who goes to editors, not the other way around. I’m not even a blip in the journalism/literary community because I don’t have any significant work that would attract anyone’s attention.

I am consequently embracing the phrase, “To God be the glory!” with fervor. The older I get, the more excited I get to give God glory for things I probably would have wanted to take credit for for myself when I was younger. I actually used to wonder why people who said “To God be the glory!” didn’t take any credit for themselves. Come on, I thought. You did something to accomplish what you accomplished.

But I really believe this opportunity is solely the hand of God and had nothing to do with me or my drive to accomplish things. That’s not false modesty either. Along with the joy that stepping aside to give God glory brings, it makes me feel deeply peaceful. That’s one of the other reasons that I know this opportunity came from the Lord.

The Bible tells us over and over again to seek peace. Giving God glory is one of the ways I do so nowadays.

Okay, that’s for today, tender friends! Thank you so much for stopping by, and thank you to the new friends!

I’ll be sharing a food post on Monday. Thank you for your patience if you’ve been waiting for a food post!

Thank you for sharing!

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