For the past 20+ years, I have been attempting to find who I am as a man, a preacher, servant, and a human being. It is quite difficult trying to discover the deep places of you. It’s even more difficult to admit that years have gone by and I wasn’t always able to pinpoint who I was or who I was going to be.
Different capacities of life have allowed me to search and discover major aspects of who I am. I have discovered that I am creative, intellectual, deeply spiritual, and a fun person. I love to write and express my feelings through many different mediums. I am passionate about execution of the gospel. I desire intellectual stimulation from those willing to engage in important dialogue.
Being engaged with each of these revelations have allowed me the opportunity to complete my first book. It was nothing more than a cathartic expression of my emotions, thoughts, and deep-seated feelings from a period of time that, at one point, I wanted to forget. Nevertheless, God has used catharsis to produce a work to help somebody going through similar trying times.
Normally, this portion would be the opportunity to push my book, Led to the Stream: Refreshing in Life’s Valley (https://squareup.com/store/LedToTheStream). However, I wanted to express the challenge of seeing something you hope for become very real.
I have been scared to death. I can’t believe that something in my mind and heart is now in black-and-white on pages in published print. I can’t explain in detail the challenge between fear and excitement. What I am able to express is that when God gives it to you and you trust God, it must come to pass.
I have high expectations of this work. I have great desire to have this book help somebody somewhere. More importantly, I am seeking God now to see how this endeavor becomes a launch point for greater works in my life and in aspects of ministry that I have never explored before.
You may be in the same boat as I am. You were trying to make sense of a new venture. You were trying to understand next moves that you didn’t see coming. Know this. The uneasiness is normal. The apprehension is not unusual. However, I have been told that at moments when these emotions come, we must not allow those deep moments that can arrest us keep us fulfilling our purpose and destiny.
In this season, everything God has destined and promised us will be calm as real as it gets. We have prayed for this. We have petitioned God for this. Now is the time to embrace the fulfillment before we miss our opportunity to see God at work. Touch it. It’s real now.
Dr. Charles W. Ferguson 