BOOK: Exhortations

Amazon.com
eBook & paperback

Volume 11 ... #17 

Taking Control of Life Through God

Pam Padgett ... Member of Body of Christ / Spiritual gift of helps

In January, 2017, I was trying to publish with Amazon, Vol. 10 of Exhortations For The Church.

After uploading the file for the eBook version, I checked the previewer which shows what the book will look like.  I noticed that the Table of Contents could not be pulled out from the side of the screen.  This would make it difficult for a person to move around in the book. 

After checking my file and not finding a problem I called the support department for Amazon's eBook publishing (called KDP).

The man I spoke with seemed to want to help.  But although I tried to explain to him that we've published many books without this problem and that other people on their forum have reported the same problem, he was convinced that the problem was with my file and he didn't look into any other possible reasons for the problem.   Instead, he kept suggesting that I try various things to "fix" my file.  I tried what he suggested, but nothing worked.  

I became aware that I was getting frustrated and that my flesh was rising up.  I prayed for God to help me.

As I prayed I "knew" that I needed to back off and terminate this conversation, even though the problem was not resolved. 

So I thanked the man for trying to help and ended the call.  

After the call, I continued praying, asking God to help me get my flesh under control and also to help with the book problem.   It didn't take long before I was calmed.

Then I had an idea to try something else which, interestingly, landed up confirming that the problem was with KDP, not with my file.

I called KDP support again to give this additional information.

As I called there was no strife, such as trying to prove anyone to be wrong, but there was peace and even a joy (I didn't think about it at the time but, of course, these are fruits of the Spirit).   

God certainly answered my prayer of getting my flesh under control.  

Another KDP support man took this second call.  After I explained the problem he put me on hold for several minutes.  When he came back on the phone I was surprised at all he told me he had done to look into the problem.  He confirmed that the problem was with KDP and said he had taken screen prints and was writing up details of the problem to send to their engineers.  

(A few days later he even called me to tell me the problem had been fixed.)

Later when reading in 1Thess. 5 verse 6 stood out to me ...

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

I thought again of what happened with this problem and how our flesh is always ready to rise up and try to lead us in a way that exalts the flesh and is opposite to ways of God.  

(works of flesh:  strife & debate, quarreling and arguing... Gal. 5)

But we are exhorted to continually watch, to be alert. 


And I looked up the word "sober".

One of the definitions in the dictionary stood out to me ... serious, implies a concern for what really matters

It can seem very important to get a problem resolved.  But what really matters is handling whatever we're dealing with as God wants us to, being led by the Holy Spirit, not letting the flesh rule in the matter.  

And I'm so grateful that we can turn to God when our flesh is rising up and HE helps us.

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