David Lee Martin

The Guinness World Record for most lightning strikes survived is held by Roy C. Sullivan, a former American park ranger.

Roy’s shocking record began in 1942 when a strike blew off his big toenail, continuing in 1969 when his eyebrows were BBQ’d.

Lightning seared his shoulder in July 1970.

72 and 73 set his hair on fire!

In 1976, fate struck again, blasting his ankle.

Until he finally topped his record on 25 June 1977 with a shot to his chest and stomach.

Surviving lightning strikes seven times, Roy earned the nickname, ‘The Human Lightning Conductor’.

Which is something I want to be, but of a different kind of lightning.

I want to be an irresistible rod for lightning strikes of revelation.

Paul prayed that the Church would have:

“…insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of God, by having the eyes of your heart flooded with light,” (Ephesians 1:17–18 AMP)

A lightning rod intercepts strikes and safely conducts the electrical current to the ground.

May your creative works relay Heaven’s reality to the world.

May the atmosphere of your prayer closet be electric with the Presence.

And may you light up everything you put your hand to.

Amen.

Early in my marriage to Larna, I found myself bamboozled by the way a woman works. Let’s face it, they are wired differently.

Some may even say weird differently. But not me!

Sometimes the air would go chilly and I’d immediately want to “solve” whatever issue had arisen. Of course, I had no clue what the issue actually was!

“What’s wrong and what can I do?” was my desperate question.

To which she’d answer, “Nothing, it’s a heart issue.”

What kind of answer is that!?

I wanted a directive.

A “do this” that would fix everything.

Typical guy thinking.

I’ve since come to understand that every issue in life is a heart issue.

(Note to husbands: the lady is almost always right!)

The boundaries, the limits, the issues, and outgoings of life spring from the subterranean rivers of the heart.

That’s why we’re told to:

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23 KJV)

God is a miner.

He digs deep for the richest ore and the clearest spring.

Revolutionary change begins not with some stroke of blind luck or a hidden key.

It begins when you connect your inner man to God’s immense love.

“Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep (an ocean): O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house, and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.” (Psalm 36:5–8 KJV)

If you want to expand in business, creativity, spirituality, family, friendships or finances, make it your goal to grow bigger on the inside

Not by chasing false promises and philosophies of the world. There are plenty out there hawking their pathway to prosperity. Not by exhausting efforts or a ‘just hustle harder’ way of working.

Stop and plug into the Source.

Time in prayer is the plumbing work necessary to tap the flow.

Selah!

The problem is not that we can do nothing without God.

It is that we can do SO MUCH without Him,

and often do!

Jesus warned (and promised):

“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5 KJV)

It’s my conviction and experience that God wants to be involved in your creativity and business. You are not alone in your desire to make an impact through your creative work. He is right here in the trenches beside you.

This reality informs my decisions as an entrepreneur.

I want to keep Jesus central to my every move.

Because of this, my business has two complementary pillars – Prayer and Productivity.

You don’t need someone else’s “secret” to succeed. You need to hear Papa speak.

Prayer provides the foundation for future growth because that’s where you’ll hear His directions, catch His heart, and learn His perspective.

Productivity is the empowered outworking of what He has spoken inwardly.

Here’s my pithy paraphrase of these two pillar principles from the Scriptures:

“Work out what God is working in.” (Philippians 2:12–13)

Stress and anxiety arise when we try to work out what He has not instigated.

What’s He saying to you today?

I was recently interviewed by my good friend, and a Christian marketplace pioneer, Ray Edwards, where we spoke in depth about having Jesus as a senior business partner.

Check out the interview here:

Over the years, I’ve shovelled time and money into numerous projects.

Buying and building the Batman ‘Tumbler’ for example.

Pretty cool, right?

But I’m neither a Lego nor a Batman fan.

So why spend almost $200 for a plastic car I have no interest in?

The boy who built it!

My son Joel.

I invest in the things he loves because I love him.

His interest is building cool Lego models, whilst mine is building him through the shared experience.

I’ve found my Heavenly Father the same.

Whatever project you may work on, in and through it, God works on His chosen project – YOU.

He takes an interest in your activities, hopes, ambitions, and desires, but His real delight is in the one who carries those dreams.

He delights in you, not just what you do.

God’s plan always brings you to a bigger place. Not always bigger by human standards, but expansive in your inner life.

“He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.” (Psalm 18:19 NKJV)

There’s a lot of WWBS out there in the world…

“Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.” (Colossians 2:8 NLT-SE)

“What Would Batman Say?” (or Oprah, or Mel, or George, or Donald, or Daisy) is not going to get you where you want to go.

God’s Word spoken to your heart and faithfully obeyed is your sure path to a larger life.

Selah.

“Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands…” (1 Thessalonians 4:11 NIV)

How do you walk and work with the Holy Ghost?

The key is found in Hebrews.

“To day if ye will hear his voice” (Hebrews 3:15 KJV)

He wants to direct and lead you in peace.

I’m sharing my experience in the hope that it will encourage you to lean into yours.

When the Holy Ghost spoke to me about shifting my ambitions to focus on leading a quiet life, He wasn’t meaning retirement to the country. Oh, that He was! 😉

When He speaks it will be personal. He will interpret what He says to fit your unique circumstances. This is why the same word can mean a multitude of things for different people.

For me, He established the destination, “a quiet life”. Then gave directions.

Destination followed by direction.

Vision followed by volition.

Listen for where He wants to take you, then wait for the next step to move toward it.

In my case, His reevaluation began by pointing out that my discomfort was not due to my busyness.

It was stubbornness that stood in the way.

“You’re stubborn,” He said.

“How?” I asked.

“Because you refuse to get properly organised in your business.”

So, for me, at this time, “minding my own business” is quite literal.

I need to mind my business.

He directed me to focus on, be mindful of, and get serious about some areas of organisation that He wanted put in their proper place.

Instead of energy being spent wondering what to do next, or wandering from task to task, systems would be in place to open mental and emotional bandwidth for Him to work His plan of expansion.

But that expansion cannot happen without it first happening in me.

This is how Word first living works.

He speaks, we respond, and grow bigger on the inside as a result.

Tomorrow I’m going to share more about this Word first life, and the decisions it is leading me to make in this season of my life.