Statistics Can Be Detrimental

   In January of this year, 2011, I began an experiment in experiencing God. I believe God led me to that because of the feeling of a great disconnect in my relationship with Him. Deciding to use Oswald Chambers devotional book, My Utmost for His Highest, as a springboard for reflection, I wrote down my thoughts and prayers as a way to chronicle my journey in this year.

   In February, I believe God led again, and I began to post this journal online in blog form, thinking that others may have some of the same feelings and might benefit from another soul putting his down in writing.


   Now the question comes to me: "What if a tree falls in the forest and no one hears, does it really make a sound"?, or something like that. 

   This from Chambers today: "Moses saw the oppression of his people and felt certain that he was the one to deliver them, and in the righteous indignation of his own spirit he started to right their wrongs. After he launched his first strike for God and for what was right, God allowed Moses to be driven into empty discouragement, sending him into the desert to feed sheep for forty years."

   My problems recently stem from the fact that the site where I post my blog has a stat page, where the number of pageviews over the past few days are tallied. I confess that I am drawn to these statistics to make sure I am relevant, but am I being led down a road I did not intend to travel when I began?

   So I went all the way back to journal entry #1 in January, and rediscovered the "why" of blogging. Not for entertainment, not for praise, not even for recognition, but as a tool of communication between God and myself. I get caught up in witty phrases and supposedly profound insights and am disappointed when no one else reads them and realizes what gems they are, when they are really not very good anyway.

   I realize again that the reason for any discouragement in this area is because my purpose has changed over these months, as has the reason for journalling, and the target audience. 

   The reason for the journal is to draw closer to God, and He is the target. I let "me" be the chief object and not Him.

   Thank you God for letting me hear your admonition "Forget the stat page!"