I have been married to my lovely wife, Charlene, for 34 years and we have two beautiful daughters. Without having any skills - or even a desire - to write a book, I began to have feelings to write about the mission that God has for all of us. It was an odd feeling, and it didn't make any sense, so I simply dismissed the feelings. How could I possibly write about something that I knew nothing about? That would be silly, maybe even crazy.

It didn't matter, the feelings continued.

The feelings stayed with me for several years and they began to feel like a worry that would never go away. I am not a worrier - so this was a very different type of feeling for me. It felt like God wanted me to do this. But why? And why me? In the back of my mind I kept wondering how I could possibly accomplish something like this without having any skills needed to do it. I love challenges - but this was a doozie. Why was this constantly on my mind? This was so far beyond my capabilities I had no option but to continue to dismiss the feelings. Maybe I just needed more exercise.

It didn't matter, the feelings continued.

Over the next few years the feelings became stronger and more consistent and I kept telling the Lord in prayer that if these feelings were from Him - He had the wrong guy. I am not a writer. I am not an author. I certainly didn’t know anything about the “mission” that He has for all of us, and more importantly, I didn’t have any of the skills needed to write. This was not in my skill set. No. Way. Besides, surely God knew that I only type with two fingers. Find someone who can type.

Meeting Nikki Frizzell

About this same time I met Nikki Frizzell at my church. What I didn’t know about Nikki was that she had just written some songs. The morning after one of my rather fervent nights of prayer with the Lord I heard one of Nikki's songs. It was called Made for a Mission. Oh boy, another nudge. But this was a huge nudge. This was a nudge that I couldn't ignore, especially since I had just asked the Lord for a sign - a sign that I couldn’t miss. This sign brought tears to my eyes. It was just too painfully obvious. It was then that I realized that meeting Nikki was no coincidence. I felt so bad. The Lord kept nudging me, and I kept ignoring Him, and even denying Him. He could see my lack of faith. The stories of Peter in the Bible began pouring through my mind, where Peter denied Jesus three times. It was a horrible feeling.

It took years, and a lot of nudges, but the Lord finally answered my prayers, and the answer was very clear: “You're right. You don’t have the ability to write this book.”

“Without Me.”

After telling Nikki about all of the nudges that I had been receiving, and hearing about some of her own, we both knew that it wasn’t by accident that we met. We both knew that her song, and my (future) book, were made for each other: to help people understand who Jesus is, and to help everyone know for certain that God has a plan and a mission for every single one of us. We are all made for a mission - no matter how small we might feel.

Start Climbing

This was all so wonderful and it confirmed our calling, but a book still had to be written. Ugh. Okay Lord, this is where You come in. I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief. I have zero skills in this area, and I also don't know the topic. This was like having a huge mountain in front of me and I had to climb it. I also needed some desire, and a huge dose. I can’t write (i.e., climb this mountain) without desiring to do so. I prayed about this and the Lord answered my prayers. He gave me the desire to dive into His Word to find the answers to all of these incredibly important questions. Wow, what a miracle. He gave me the desire to do something that I would have considered impossible - like climbing Mount Everest. But with Him all things are possible.

It Takes Faith

I now know, and understand, that all it takes - is faith. Faith as small as a mustard seed.

God tells us that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed nothing will be impossible for us. How do we know when something that seems like an impossible task (like writing this book) comes from God? It is actually quite simple. If we can accomplish it on our own and we don’t need God - then we wouldn’t need any faith to accomplish it. So faith is needed to accomplish the impossible. Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists - and He will reward those who earnestly seek Him. It is through our faith that we can do immeasurably more than we ask, or even imagine.

So, through faith (alone), this book was written.

All Things are Possible

I hope this inspires you to do the impossible. Listen to God and He will bless you. Listen to Him and believe. For everything is possible for one who believes.

I have written this book, but I am not a writer. I have published this book, but I am not a publisher. I am not a pastor, priest, minister, reverend, bishop, or theologian. I simply acted on the nudges that the Lord kept giving me - and through His grace, and just a little bit of faith, I was able to write this book.

Listen to His nudges. The Lord wants nothing but the very best for you. In fact, He wishes to heap His blessings upon you. Just have faith.

In His Name,

Jim Harper, 1957-2020, author