How Did You Become the Devotional Guy ?

People who regularly read my blog often ask me “How did you become the Devotional Guy?”

While on staff at a local church, I had the opportunity to serve as the chaplain for our annual music camp. My big responsibility in that role was to provide a daily devotional to a group of youngsters enrolled in that camp.

One day, as I was making my afternoon rounds, a young boy and his mom walked past me. He waved and turned to his mom and said, “That’s the devotional guy!”

I liked the ring to what I had overheard and decided it would make for a good blog title.

And so it began…

My blogging journey has been marked by both extreme joy and deep frustration. Growing my blog hasn’t been easy. Sometimes, I don’t feel like being that Christian blogger.

It’s taken countless hours for the blog to arrive where it is today. It’s required a ton of determination and unending resilience.

One life lesson I’ve learned over and over again:

When you get knocked down, get back up.

At times, maintaining a blog is hard work. Sometimes, it’s a joyful passion.

How Hard Can Blogging Be?

What if I told you that it takes some of my posts 4-5 years to gain traction? Mind blowing right? Yes, but true.

That’s right: 4-5 years. Not exactly light-speed.

Even better: I never know which post will suddenly start to gain traction.

My Proof is in the Pudding!

Here are a few examples featuring older posts that gained traction later:

How Do Our Lives Reflect the Image of God?

When I first published my post exploring how our lives reflect the image of God in 2018, it received 21 views. Three years later, in 2021, it had racked up 31 total views. Thirty-one views in three years. Let that sink in. really. deep. Not exactly a lot of interest in a critical topic to Christians. And then, in 2022, four years after it was first published, this post suddenly began gaining traction like one of those deep cuts on one of your favorite albums or CDs (how we used to listen to music before streaming; don’t be a hater). In 2023, the number of views for this post quadrupled from 2022. It’s currently on pace to cross the 2,000 view mark for this year. Go figure.

Psalm 104: Using Your Creative Gifts for His Glory and Praise

Also published in 2018, this post had more interest than “How Do Our Lives Reflect the Image of God,” but not by much. Okay. It actually did radically well in comparison by racking up nearly three times the views in the first three years that “How Do Our Lives Reflect the Image of God” rustled up. Then, suddenly, in 2021, this post started gaining traction. I believe it’s best days lay ahead. What fascinates me about this post is that I published it well before my drawing excursion began.

Daily Scripture | 7 Bible Verses for Starting a New Job

I originally published my post offering biblical encouragement to readers starting a new job in December 2018. Less than two dozen people read it. In 2020, in the midst of the COVID lockdowns, this post exploded, going from a little over 300 views to nearly 7,000 new readers. To date, it is my most viewed post having logged over 54,000 views since it was originally published.

Worship is our response to God

A post first published back in 2016, “Worship is our response to God” began to gain traction four years after it saw the light of day and it has enjoyed continuous incremental growth since 2020.

Morning Prayer 16 | Gentleness

Since I first scribed and published this post in 2018, it has nearly quadrupled in views every year since 2020. It resonates with people, especially in these vitriolic and divisive times we inhabit.

Why Am I Sharing This With You?

Throughout my life, I’ve benefited from people willing to encourage me by sharing their personal life experiences with me. Their wisdom has been incredibly helpful in keeping me in the game. In turn, I believe it is every older person’s responsibility to share what they’ve learned and what they know with the next generation. Sometimes that “older” is an age thing. Other times, “older” is an experience thing.

The great thing about mentoring is that you don’t have to know everything. You simply need to know a little more than the other guy in order to be useful.

Likewise, to be a great encourager, you need not have had the smoothest, straightest journey. You simply had to make it through to the other side.

My prayer is that you might find my words scribbled here useful and encouraging.

Feel free to hit me up in the comments and share your experiences. I always love hearing from you.

In the meantime—-

Abundant blessings and happy blogging,

Rainer Bantau

The Devotional Guy™