Into the Fire

Those who know they’ve been called to write must do it no matter what. Without promises of publication, without assurances of contracts, without praise or platform, without any guarantees. You simply must write.

In the process of living and walking and talking this Christian life, there is one consistent call on each of our lives. The one thing every Christian is called to do is prayer. Not just to pray. But rather prayer. You know the scriptures. This is no assignment separating gender or leadership or position or talents and gifts. Every Christian is called to prayer.

And prayer constitutes conversation. Give and take. Talk, ask, listen, respond. Communication. Real prayer requires it, and more importantly the Lord desires it. You know it.

If you visit the various blogs for writers, you will read/hear frustration among the professionals as well as from those of us who remain unpublished. The competition is fierce. The morale can be low. And the aspirations are great. We hear complaints, warnings, instructions, suggestions, experiences, glories, and woes. The agony and the ecstasy as it were.

We can either relate, understand, empathize, or only feel rejection. Happy, sad, and in between. You can see it all if you visit enough sites. Nothing can waylay the emotional roller coaster of the various processes of writing and seeking an outlet for your work.

However, the ultimate solution is complete submission to the order of the call to God. If you truly write for Him, it is God you must strive to please. Few things of any real value are easy to come by. Usually there are serious requirements, even sacrifices to be made.

Will you completely yield your writing to the Lord and allow Him to make the decisions as to what happens to it? It’s not an easy question to answer. You spend time, energy, emotion, and commitment doing this thing called writing to fulfill the call God has placed on your life. Doesn’t that compute to publication? It does for most of us. Our minds logically proceed to seeing the work in print in hopes of blessing not only our Lord but others who will read it and learn, laugh, cry, be challenged and/or any number of other things just from reading what we’ve written for our Lord. Of course He wants us published, right?

I don’t know. I do know this much. If in any way being published causes us to lose sight of Him or forfeit closeness to Him, and if it causes us to become prideful and self-satisfied, or if we choose to write for more accolades or praises from men, then it would be difficult to answer positively to the question of publication.

Just because we have a talent doesn’t mean we can assume how the Lord might choose to use it. Prayer is the vehicle for seeking His will. The important and critical part of having this talent is being able to use it according to His will and not our own. That might prove to be the sacrifice we need to make. For His Glory.

Father, your will is the objective. Help me to keep my heart focused on your will and your purpose for my life. It’s a 24/7 endeavor to keep the selfishness in check. Help me to do just that. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.