The Interim Of Greatness.

Greatness is one of those elusive things in life that can leave as quickly as it came. It only rests on a person for an allotted time and then it is gone again.

The interim of greatness reminds us that it’s only provisional and the length of time you can walk in that greatness all depends on God. Look at King Solomon, he was a powerful king who ruled an empire, but he saw all his wealth and wisdom as a passing thing. Some say he is the author of the book of Ecclesiastes, but the jury is still out on that one. However, the word that is used a lot in this biblical book is the Hebrew word, ‘hevel’ which means, vapour or breath.

The Qoheleth, (which means one who gathers), writes about the vanity of vanities in Ecclesiastes. His pursuit in the search for substance in this life leads to his lament that starts with, ‘like a passing mist or trying to hold a breath.’ He goes on to say that power and influence don’t last, and it is like trying to pursue the wind. Yet something within our flawed human nature still tries to grasp greatness.

Many bible heroes who have risen out of a life of complete obscurity into the greatness of their calling are now remembered in church sermons. But what if we delve deeper? What if we resurrected and focused on the passion and the character that fuelled these people to step into the greatness that was offered to them? Instead of focusing on the greatness of the calling in their lives, why don’t we focus more on the traits that moved these great leaders to pursue their calling in the first place?

Why? Because it all just sounds like a lot of hard work. We will happily skip over the character building, ugly parts throughout their stories, just so we can get to the juicy part, the part where they step into the greatness of their calling. It’s the part we’ve all been waiting for, the moment in the story where everyone lives happily ever after. But that is just the ‘hevel’ of the story, ‘a passing mist, a breath.’ The greatness we read about becomes vanity of vanities, something we cling on to with both hands but never grasp the depth of what God is showing us within these stories.

If we just read about the greatness of bible heroes and skim over the process of how they got there, then we have missed the point completely. This is why greatness is so interim. It is like being a temporary caretaker of something that cannot be seen. David went from shepherd boy to a king. Joseph goes from being falsely accused to second in command of Egypt. Esther is a Jew who becomes Queen and twelve ordinary men go from complete obscurity to the most famous church planters in history.

So much richness in the process of each bible hero should not be overlooked because it is only God’s greatness that engulfs their weaknesses. Isaiah 40:25-26 says, ‘The Holy One asks, “Do you really think you can find someone or something to compare to Me? My equal?” Look at the myriad of stars and constellations above you. Who set them to burning, each in its place? Who knows those countless lights each by name? They obediently shine, each in its place, because God has the great strength and strong power to make it so.’ 

 God’s great strength and strong power are permanent, it is continual, and it is seen. It is known in the vast magnitude of the universe, right down to the smallest blade of grass. His greatness is shown in the sweeping landscape, the vastness of the ocean and in the detailed iridescent colour that shines on an insect’s delicate wings. Why do we pursue greatness like gods when our lives are but a breath, a vapour in the wind? Why do we try to grasp something that is the fleeting ‘hevel’ instead of focusing on our character so we can live out of the longevity of our calling?

As writers, let’s delve deeper into the bible stories and learn from these biblical heroes by understanding how God shaped and moulded their character first before they stepped into greatness. God knew each bible hero’s character needed to be present so they could handle the greatness of their calling, and He helps with your character building too so that you can leave a legacy of greatness for the next generation to step into.

Wendy xo

Along your writing journey, where has God been faithful by helping you focus on building your character on your way to getting published rather than pursuing greatness as the number one goal?