A little over a year ago, I sent about a hundred copies of my book, Unshackled, to a drug rehabilitation facility somewhere in the South-South, Nigeria, all the way from Ekiti State.

I never received a call, message or got a feedback. For more than a year, I wasn't even sure the books had arrived. I wondered if they had been lost somewhere in transit.

I had reached out to a number of drug rehabilitation centres across the country, and many of them responded. So when this particular facility didn't, I simply assumed they probably never received the books.

I moved on.

Until recently, when I received a call. They had received the books. They had been using them. The books had been helpful. And now, people were asking for more. For the first time, they were asking me how much the books cost and requesting that I send another batch.

That call meant far more to me than a request to purchase my book. It was confirmation that the book had done what I prayed it would do. And as I packed another batch to waybill to the rehabilitation centre, I found myself pausing for a moment of sober reflection.

I remembered why I wrote Unshackled in the first place.

I did not write it primarily to make money. I wrote it because addiction is not an abstract subject to me. I have a sibling who battled addiction for several decades, and I know, secondhand, what addiction can do—not only to the person caught in its grip, but also to the people who love them, pray for them, worry about them, and watch helplessly as they struggle. I also know what it means to believe that freedom is still possible. Even after years. Even after repeated relapses and seemingly impossible circumstances.

That conviction birthed Unshackled—a devotional for addiction recovery, written from a place of compassion, conviction and a deep desire to remind people that they are not beyond the reach of freedom.

So when I received that call after more than a year of silence, I wasn't thinking first about sales.

I was thinking: It reached someone. Someone read it and found help. Someone was reminded that freedom is possible. And perhaps that is one of the greatest rewards of purpose: knowing that what God placed in your hands has become useful in someone else's life.

It reminded me again: PURPOSE BEFORE PROFIT. IMPACT BEFORE INFLUENCE.

Profit and influence are not wrong. But neither should become the reason we do what God has called us to do.

Purpose asks, “Why am I doing this?”

Impact asks, “Who is better because I did it?”

Profit should be a fruit of the work, not the foundation of the work. Influence should be a consequence of faithfulness, not the destination. Because when profit becomes the purpose, we may eventually compromise our principles for financial gain. And when influence becomes the goal, we may become more concerned about being seen than about being useful.

But when purpose is at the centre, we can keep going even when nobody is clapping. Because purpose does not require an audience to be valid.

Sometimes, the most significant things you will do for God will happen quietly. Behind closed doors. Without photographs. Without announcements. Without accolades. And sometimes, you may never know the full extent of the impact- and I am beginning to pray never to know.

But God sees. And perhaps that is why we must learn not to live by the applause of men. Don't wait for applause, approval or affirmation. And don't even allow criticism to become the compass by which you determine whether you should obey God.

If there is a vision God has given you, and you genuinely believe it is meant to bless humanity and bring glory to Him, go with your heart's cry.

Start. Write. Build. Serve. Teach. Create. Give. Go. Do the work. And do it even when nobody is watching.

And to everyone quietly sacrificing behind the limelight...

To those giving where nobody can see...

To those serving without being celebrated...

To those sowing without immediate evidence of harvest...

To those pursuing purpose when profit is not yet apparent...

To those carrying a God-given burden that nobody else fully understands...

May God strengthen your stewardship, sustain your sacrifice, and give you courage when the applause is absent.

Sometimes, the call comes a year later, and sometimes, you will never hear the story.

But whichever happens, may our lives ultimately become evidence that what God puts in a person's hands can become a blessing in the hands of many.

 

 

 

 

A LITTLE ABOUT ME

I am Dr Anthonia Soje, a physician, hospital administrator, entrepreneur, psychotrauma-informed therapist, transformational life coach and strategist, Christian marriage and sexuality coach, educator, author, and speaker.

My work sits at the intersection of medicine, psychology, healing, relationships, faith, personal growth, and intentional living.

I am deeply interested in helping people understand themselves, heal what needs healing, gain clarity about their lives, and become more intentional about the lives they are building.

And beyond all the professional titles, I am simply a wife, a mother, and a Christian—still learning, growing, and becoming.

This is the lens through which I write.