Notoriety can
change your life in ways you would never expect. Not all change that comes with
increased visibility is pleasant. The greater the public footprint your life
has the greater will be the attacks on you, your family, and
your ministry.

T.D. Jakes
shared a story of meeting an older pastor in an airport at the time when T.D.’s
ministry began to explode in its impact and audience. The old pastor said, “You
lost it.” To which T.D. said, “What do you mean?” The old pastor said,
“Normalcy.”

When notoriety
came to the life of T.D. Jakes, then just a country pastor from West Virginia,
so did the cruel and unfounded slurs and attacks the enemy knows how to craft
and deliver with profound impact. Through tears of emotion, T.D. described some
of those attacks. T.D. did not seek to be known. It only came because He was
following a call from God.

Be careful
seeking notoriety. It is a lustful seductress. Only allow God to open the doors
of opportunity. Give audience to His voice alone, not the praise of people.
Even if you have lived with the purest of motives, the challenges will still
come, but they will not be empowered by your pride and a desire to be known.
You are already a person of great value to God. Nothing you do will ever add to
your value in His eyes. That knowledge is your only safe place of normalcy.