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by Eric Hansen

Before I start off with this post, I feel it’s important to define what I mean when I say “introvert.” Webster defines it as “having a disposition that is taxed by social engagement and energized by calm environments, resulting in the preference for quiet solitude.” Most people I know think of introverts as one who refuses to talk and would rather be in the shadows. That by its nature is what shyness is, and since I have both qualities about myself, I feel now is a good time to discuss how someone like me can glorify God.

For years I always thought that to glorify God meant that I had to be in the trenches, preaching the Word on every street corner, or else I wasn’t serving God well enough (or at all). Ultimately I feel this stemmed from surrounding myself with people who would say “I’m glorifying God” while doing such acts and never being exposed to anything else. I was a product of my environment, as they say.

I run a ministry (He Brews Ministries) where I had the intent of focusing on helping others grow in their faith. I started a podcast in the ministry (He Brews Faith) to help deliver those messages, and I struggled with finding a right balance of God and personal accounts. I’ve also started having an increasing desire to play music again, but I’ve been struggling in understanding if it’s worth putting my time into and how it would be glorifying God. On top of that, I’ve also been trying to learn Japanese, Korean, and to a different level, Biblical Greek while having a 9-5 job. I needed to only focus on what glorified God, but none of them really seemed to fit the criteria I understood for what “glorifying God” entailed.

With my podcast, I didn’t feel confident or know how to advertise. Also, I was never really comfortable with what I had to say because of perfectionism. Everything was compared against “Is God the focus?” even when I already knew the answer was yes.

When it comes to playing music, the question was simply “Why?” The music I wanted to play didn’t fit anything I knew others wanted to play (melodic or ambient Christian stuff). This meant I would always be doing it solo, yet it’s more enjoyable when I can gather with others. How could I glorify God by playing bass in a room in my basement?

Learning languages can be very taxing when just learning one, let alone 3. For a few years now, I’ve felt called to serve God overseas in Asia, so it wasn’t so much “How is learning this glorifying God?” but instead “How can I glorify God by learning this?” We’re talking about going to countries where Christianity is between 1-15%, with the rest being mostly Buddhists or atheists.

But at the time of writing this post, I had a discussion with my fellow blog writer Katie about these feelings, which ended up giving me inspiration to write this article. In talking about these things, her response was simple but profound:

“Think about Jesus' life. Was He glorifying the Father when He went off alone to pray, when no one was around? I'd say yes, because 1) He was developing that relationship with the Father, and 2) He was preparing Himself for what was to come. I believe the same applies to us.”

Growing Closer to God

This has been a struggle for me since the beginning of my walk with Christ. I read the Bible, but that always felt like it wasn’t enough. I went to church, prayed, etc.; sometimes I felt like God was right next to me, and other times I felt like I couldn’t find Him if I tried.

My musical focus is Christian music, regardless of whether it’s fast or slow, metal or opera, or somewhere between. This means that at least on some level, I would be putting the focus on Christ, even if I just played while sitting in a little room in my basement. Daniel went to his room every day and prayed. Prayer itself doesn’t have to be something elaborate; it’s a time of just sitting with God and talking. Through that, you build up that relationship and closeness with the Lord.

Prepare For Calling

As I said, I have felt called to serve God in Asia for a while now. Learning a language is the best way to communicate with people, and both Japan and Korea are very appreciative of anyone who tries to speak their language. This is one path I have no real answers figured out besides “I need to learn the language,” and I also know I don’t need to be perfect at it. But maybe one way of talking about Christ is someone asking why does my music sound a certain way, and I talk about the influence of God and the Holy Spirit.

Enjoying God-Given Gifts

I’ve always been the most creative one in my family except for one of my uncles. While I was in high school, I used to write a lot of poetry, and when I went to college I started learning guitar (along with bass and keyboard). I even crochet every so often to help calm my ADHD.

When I started becoming a Christian, though, I boxed up all that creativity, because I felt like it was getting in the way of serving God. However, by ignoring that part of me, I’m also ignoring how God created me. I’m effectively saying, “God, I know you made me to be creative, but it’s not good enough for me to serve you.” You know how heart-wrenching that is when you realize you’re basically slapping God in the face?

The objective here isn’t to fill our available time with random or mundane actions. But we also shouldn't stifle God’s creation and blessings as well. In doing so, we’re no different than Jonah, but we may not have a whale to rescue us. I would like to say Christ is that proverbial whale, but deep down Christ already did all He could to rescue us.

Glorifying God can be through many avenues, outlets, and explorations. Not everything is going to be golden or right, but we also don’t always need to be tossing Bible verses at someone or educating them on sin to give God glory. Take a good step back, make a leap if you have to, and really analyze the situation. Perhaps even instead of asking “How is this glorifying God?” we should instead ask “How can I glorify God through this?”

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