A Holy Hustle New YearMuestra

Our culture celebrates big, loud, and flashy success stories that seem to happen overnight. Unless you have someone famous endorse what you're doing it's almost impossible to get any attention for your project, book, or event. Instagram is full of people with huge followings who are now paid to promote products because numbers matter to the world. More followers and more fame equal more opportunity. It can be frustrating when all we want to do is live our lives to glorify God, keeping our hustle holy, and we're drowned out by the noise of the world. We feel like our dreams are slowly being crushed every time we share our idea with someone, only to have them ask how big our platform is before they're willing to take a chance on us. Today's verse has always been encouraging to me when I'm struggling to figure out if what I'm doing is worth it or where I should even begin. It’s a reminder to view our plans through God’s eyes (and His upside-down, the last-shall-be-first version of success), not what the world says we should do. Today, as you consider the work and the dreams that God has given you, consider what your first step might be. How can you lay the groundwork today, place the first stone, start the building process, track your efforts each day or week so that in six months or a year or two years from now you'll be able to look back at that firm foundation you started and marvel at where God has taken it? God rejoices to see the work begin. Not done perfectly. Not done all the way and then promoted by anyone famous. God rejoices to see us obediently take our first steps because He knows what it will look like when the work is done. And it will be good. \-- If you enjoyed this reading plan by Crystal Stine, you can buy Holy Hustle Planner on her site at https://www.crystalstine.me/books