Friday, January 5, 2018

Using Your Platform

As writers and leaders, we are constantly challenged to increase our platform, to reach others with the message that we have been given. As an author, I have spent the previous month truly focusing on expanding my platform, hoping the Lord would open new doors, assist in making new connections, giving an opening for the message to reach more people. He did. Now, what do we do with such a platform?

Each day, we come into contact with a variety of people. Co-workers, fellow church members, friends, family members, social media friends/followers, acquaintances at our favorite restaurants and those we have come to know at the local gas station, and even strangers on the street are all placed in our lives and in our paths by the directive hand of God. There are no coincidences and as these interactions take place on a daily and weekly basis, what message are they receiving from our lives?

Having a platform, which we all have been blessed with whether it be fifteen people or thousands of individuals, means that we are responsible/accountable for the message that comes from our lives. What do they see in us? What do they hear from us? The message which our lives tell will live on long after these lives have ended on earth.

Joshua was in a place of leadership. He had a platform. As a leader, he ensured that those following, those who saw him as a leader, knew the direction of his life and the message was clear. In Joshua 24, we read, "Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:14-15 NKJV)

His message was clear. He was going to serve the Lord, and his house would do the same. The people had a choice, but regardless of the choice they made, Joshua would proclaim that there was only one God and that was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He used his platform to proclaim truth and in that truth, to point the people to where they needed to be. He challenged those who listened, he gave them a message that said they could not serve the gods in Egypt, nor the gods of the Amorites, and simultaneously serve the Lord. So, they had to choose. No matter what choice they made, he was not going to change his allegiance, which belonged to the Lord.

Our message must be clear. Our message must point people in an eternal direction. Our message must also be backed by a life of consistency. When we use our platform for such a purpose, when we use our influence for the Lord, then we see the Lord increase that influence, opening new doors and new opportunities for His message to be shared. As we have been given these opportunities, let's be sure to use them for His glory, that others may come to know Him and walk more closely with Him.

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