top of page
Search

Should I Just Hush?

Full disclosure: I have gotten accustomed to looking at the number of views my website receives. For publishers, literature is a numbers game, oddly enough. If there aren’t enough people reading to make money off of your book, they won’t agree to publication. I’ve seen people share my posts, which I am grateful for, but they never read a single sentence. The view count remained 0. It troubles me to the point of considering discontinuation.

I’ll admit, I am not the greatest businessman. I understand the timing, creativity, and need for advertising. I understand that people have shorter attention spans, so books and scripts must be shorter. I understand literature appears to be a dying business. But part of me still hopes that a collective of words on a page alone are still enough to draw people.

What good is writing an awesome book that no one reads? I’ve written at least 10 completed works to the summation of over 2,000 pages, and as happy as that makes me, it feels like hoarding. God gave me wisdom and creativity, and I’ve used it. I’ve honed my skills. I’ve taken a liking to varieties of languages, themes, images, and symbols. I have an arsenal unlike anything mainstream puts out. I know its value, but how do I get strangers to acknowledge it? The writings I put out now are akin to what I plan to publish, and I average maybe 10 readers a post, which is less than the number of people I go to work with. It’s discouraging.

When I put out a piece that I’ve poured hours into just to receive feedback from one or two people, it’s hard to stay positive. I know that God will give me my time, but I’m 31. He set me on this path 14 years ago. When will my time be? How many people will I have missed in all my preparation? Why do I keep looking to view counts for my confidence?

I know the tactic. The devil will try every thought to discourage me from publishing what God always intended for me to have. He will tell me no one comments because they don’t like my writing. He will say that no one reads my writing because I am too much of a joke on social media. He will attempt to twist my path and distract me, so that I cannot be useful.

I keep asking myself, “If only one person reads one of those stories, is that enough?” If I can be honest, right now, it is not enough. I want to save everyone. I want to point everyone to the salvation that happened on the cross and to the God who spoke to me, literally, 2,006 years after He supposedly died. I want everyone to experience such intimacy with God. We need it.

God, on the other hand, has been telling me that saving one person is more than enough. As I looked for the words to continue this very post, the stories of Rahab[1], Abraham conversing with God over Sodom and Gomorrah[2], the Samaritan woman[3], the one missing sheep of the hundred[4], and the man possessed by legion[5] we all given to me. AS I write this, God asks, “If one story changed a city, wouldn’t that be beyond your expectation? Wouldn’t that be more than enough?” Honestly, it would be. My ambition tells me I can do more, but my expectation believes I will do far less, and that’s okay. One inspired reader has to be enough.

Sometimes, all we need to be is the one sliver of Christ, our God, to one person. If only one person reads one of my stories, but uses it to tell the world of Christ and save many lives, it does not make my other stories less valuable. Not too long ago, a 6-page short of mine almost became a full-fledged movie produced by the school I am an alumnus of. God has been showing me for a long time now that the littlest things can become huge opportunities as long as I keep them in His hands.

Should I just hush, since people aren’t reading my posts anyway? No. There are people in this world who need people like me to show them a fraction of God so that they can be saved. Forget a viewer count. One person is more than enough. Already, more than one person has read what I’ve written, and many see how I live my life both online and in person. I have encouraged others to pursue a relationship with Christ, and I dare to say, God has used me to prevent further damage in many people’s lives. The only person wanting me to shut up is the devil, and we don’t listen to him around here.

I end with this: don’t stop talking because no one appears to be listening. Someone is, and that someone needs you to keep representing Christ faithfully so that they can build upon their faith to where they can see God for themselves. Be the singular voice shouting praises to God in a room full of shouting demons.

I once heard, “You could be the only Jesus someone sees in their life.” Can you really afford to let that person miss out on eternity because you got discouraged? Should you really let your expectations or discouraged ambition stifle God’s plan? There’s a reason it doesn’t look the way you thought it would look. The One who set you on that path already knows how it should look, and He has a different desire for you in mind. Get in sync with Immanuel. You’ll find that what you expected to happen will pale in comparison to what actually does.

Trust and love the process,

Dario Augustus

7 views

Recent Posts

See All

A Voice

bottom of page