Hollywood is in the midst of pilot season, (no, I’m not talking about flying a plane). Pilot season is when thousands of actors descend into LA and Hollywood to land a role in a pilot program that might get picked up by a television network. It can launch an actor’s career. La La Land, the 2016 American musical nominated for 14 Academy Awards, was written and directed my Damien Chazell and starred Ryan Gosling and won Emma Stone the Best Actress Award. It was a love story about an aspiring actress and musician who wanted to become stars. The movie depicted the agony that talented artists must endure in order to break into a difficult Hollywood theatrical and musical industry. Thousands of wannabes flood into Hollywood daily to find stardom, yet sadly, few do. Success in the entertainment and media industry, as in all areas in life, comes when individuals do the hard work – the foundational work of “pounding the pavement.”
God wants us to be successful. But He wants us to first pound the pavement in our spiritual lives. Making space and time for daily prayer and meditation in God’s Word means dedication to Him. It requires a passion for seeking a higher force – God’s will first in our lives. In II Thessalonians 3: 7-8 Paul was a pavement pounder. He wrote to encourage the young Thessalonian Christians saying, “For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you.” NIV. The early Christians knew that they had to work hard so that the love and hope of Jesus might be made known to all.
You can also be an encouragement to others. Each day is an opportunity for you to meet someone, read, or learn something that can make you and them stronger in the Kingdom of God. Artists often become so intent on their own careers and their life struggles that they fail at seeing those around us. I believe that as we encourage and help to open doors for others God brings us joy within our own struggles. He teaches us how to see things outside ourselves and when we do that we flourish even when life is difficult. Work is turned to joy.
Are you willing to pound the pavement for what God wants in your life daily? God’s got plans laid out for you if you follow Him diligently keeping your eyes open for those doors He’ll open. Or as we say in Hollywood, “Action!”
