Priscilla Shirer – Reward Over Reluctance

Even with the video Bible studies I’ve done with LifeWay now for ten or eleven years, they called us to consider putting some of our messages into some Bible studies to go deeper in conversation with God’s word. My first response was, “Isn’t this was Beth Moore does? If so, then no, I can’t do that!” It was my husband who encouraged me toward that end. He said, “Priscilla, I think because you think you can’t that it’s exactly why God wants to use you, because his strength is made perfect in our weakness.”

So, from the first book I wrote when I was 24 or 25 years-old to the video Bible studies to the movie, all of those were opportunities that came to us as we prayerfully considered, “Is this something that God would want us to pursue, despite our feelings of inadequacy?”

CCM: I couldn’t help but notice that you’re also slated for another feature film, which means this initial impulse to back-out is now something you’re leaning into. Is that right?
PS: [Laughs] Yes, that creative bouquet you mentioned earlier has been very fulfilling to me in this season of my life. When you do one thing over and over, you love that one thing, but it’s great to flex other muscles that have had to lie dormant. Just the opportunity to flex outside of the box for me—to be around people who do things completely different from what I do—has been so enjoyable. I’ve loved watching actors in their craft, in their element, and seeing that creative energy operating in their lives.

I told the Lord, “Hey, God, I liked that. That was fun.” I didn’t want to leave our life and ministry to move to Hollywood, but I prayed that if there are other projects that will lift up God’s name and would be a good fit for the purpose and passion that He’s put in our hearts to serve Him, then we’re open to that. Within weeks, the Erwin Brothers contacted me about I Can Only Imagine, a new movie about that incredible song (buy single) that has changed the lives of millions of people. I’d met Bart Millard from MercyMe, who wrote that song, and he’s just a tenderhearted, wonderful man. To get a call to be a part of a project about that song and about the life of a guy like that, again, I count it a privilege to be a part of it.

click to buy 365 devotional