by Dennis Gladden, By Green Pastures, ©2025
(Jan. 13, 2025) — This post is for all of us who attend to small things, who sometimes succumb to the lament of the psalmist, “I am small and despised” (Psalm 119:141).
Maybe despised is extreme, and you prefer a less drastic rendering: I am small and have little esteem. That’s all right; the Hebrew supports it.
Regardless, toiling at what seems inconsequential can be discouraging and make you weary. While I write this with my Substack publication in mind, I have been buoyed by a strategy that can benefit anyone who feels insignificant.
It is based on two lessons I have learned through the years:
- God rewards our work, and
- God gives the increase.
To be sure, this strategy may resemble the fabled tortoise versus the hare, but waiting on God has its rewards.
God rewards our work
True confession #1: I was a jealous editor at times when I managed our town’s weekly newspaper. Each January we entered the annual competition of the New England Newspaper & Press Association and most years we won awards.
One January, our community editor garnered a prestigious award and I came away with an honorable mention.
I felt overlooked. I murmured. I was sure my writing deserved better.
Before long, the Lord called me up short through the Sermon on the Mount.
In the middle of the sermon, Jesus recited a series of occasions where people covet and receive recognition. He concluded each by saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.” (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16).
He made the message personal.
“To her (my fellow editor), winning awards is all-important. That is all she has, and she has her reward. But you have Me.”
That ended my envy.
The experience affirmed Paul’s guidelines for my endeavors as a Christian.
Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24).
Rather than envying my co-worker, I came around to rejoicing with her for her accomplishment and became content with mine.
God gives the increase
True confession #2: I have begun my third year of writing on Substack and I get jealous at times when I read others boasting about their readership.
There are notes and posts almost daily about how to grow a publication. Some report hundreds of subscribers gained in a matter of weeks while others have an audience in the thousands.
Here is a sampling of recommended techniques (my words, not theirs):
- Post daily.
- Post once or twice a week. Daily suffocates your audience.
- Write when you have something to say. Even weekly or biweekly is too frequent if consistency trumps content.
- Write short. Keep the reading time to a few minutes. People get bored.
- Write long. Readers want an in-depth perspective.
- Float an invitation. Tell what you write about and then connect the dots for the reader: “Follow or subscribe if this interests you, too.”
- Write notes. Lots of notes. Every day.
- Show up everywhere regularly. Read other writers, drop meaningful comments, and click “like” liberally. Follow and subscribe.
To be honest, some of the strategies remind me of house parties where the host leverages friendships and relationships to sell some household product. Obligation works to some degree, but the commitment is shallow.
Nonetheless, the advice is alluring. I have intuitively practiced some of it and even adopted a few of these tips, but without startling results.
It is tempting to murmur again, but I am resisting. Not that I make New Year’s resolutions, but I am resolved to rely on counsel from the Apostle Paul: It is God who gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:7).
Will this encourage someone you know? Go ahead and share it. Brighten their day.
I don’t want people to subscribe or follow my Substack because of gimmicks or giveaways (at this point, I have nothing to give, anyway), or enticements to subscribe-to-me-and-I’ll-subscribe-to-you.
I prefer that readers commit because they discover By Green Pastures to be what I intended from the beginning: A place to gather, refresh, and rejoice in God.
Accordingly, I want to thank the 113 of you who are following or have subscribed and those who like and comment on posts. Each recognition like this is a tremendous encouragement and blessing to the one who tends to small endeavors.
My strategy for 2025
Keeping in mind that God rewards and grows our work, this is how I plan to move ahead in 2025. Substitute your own activity where I talk about writing.
- Write consistently. When you subscribed or followed, you indicated you expect more to come—you committed to my ongoing work. My commitment to you is to show up regularly.
I learned the importance of consistency while conducting biweekly services at an elderly housing complex in our town years ago. We met every other week for several months, then I handed out a 3-month schedule of services. It was intangible, but something changed. A sense of appreciation infused the group when they saw this tangible commitment to them. The schedule confirmed I was coming, and when. Consistency feeds loyalty.My goal has been to post every 7 to 10 days; I am averaging 11 days.- Write well. If the choice is to publish something to meet a self-imposed deadline or to delay in order to craft a better piece, I will delay. Your time is valuable and I will do my best not to encumber it with insipid fluff. This is in keeping with another goal for my Substack: Write reasonably about our reasonable faith.
- Don’t lapse into idleness. The two principles I described above—look to God to reward and grow my work—is another way of saying “wait on the Lord.”
I have known people who use waiting on God to lapse into effortless laissez-faire (for example, If God wants me to sell the house, He’ll bring a buyer along.) The Apostle Paul encountered them, too, in Thessalonica (2 Thessalonians 3:6–15).
In his admonition, Paul writes, “Do not grow weary in doing good.” God’s work doesn’t license idling away.
Jesus told a parable about a farmer who didn’t understand the mechanics of agriculture, but he knew the process of sowing and reaping worked. He rose early to plant his seed, took pains to cultivate it, and eventually had a harvest. (Mark 4:26–29).
He didn’t lapse into lethargy because he didn’t understand how his work worked. He did his part, knowing the Creator does His.
I don’t know how God will grow this publication. I do know that waiting on Him means doing the work He has given me, confident that Jesus was right: “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working” (John 5:17). I rest in what He is doing.To Paul’s point, I will plant and water as I am able, but God gives the increase.- Invest in others. Besides writing, I will do for other writers what I ask you to do for me: Comment meaningfully, click the “like” button, and follow or subscribe. Encourage as I would like others to encourage me.
One of the first and key people we meet in the early church is Barnabas, a nickname the disciples gave him that means Son of Encouragement (Acts 4:36). Had Barnabas not encouraged the believers to receive Paul, their former tormentor, history would likely have played out very differently. Encouragement makes a difference.Well, there you have my plan for By Green Pastures.
Are you doing something that is “small potatoes” and struggling with similar feelings? I’d love to hear in the comments how you deal.
Maybe you think I’m foolish. Let me know; share your wisdom.
Let’s encourage each other.
By Green Pastures is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription is a blessing. Thanks for your encouragement.