Into the Fire

There are multiple ways for things to happen in our lives—and by that I mean changes, directions we take, detours we never see coming, and even complete turnarounds.

Christians strain—at times—to see the big picture. And sometimes the big picture isn’t even remotely visible. So we have to assume our Father in heaven has a clear view since He’s sovereign over all creation and all that good stuff. Only sometimes the “stuff” ain’t so good, folks, and even the strongest in our faith struggle with what the heck’s goin’ on. Right? I assume it’s not just me.

Several years ago I wrote a poem titled “Implosion”. It captured the utter desolation I was feeling at the time. There were a lot of major difficulties going on in our lives then, and I remember telling the Lord, “I don’t even know what to pray.” Gradually, things improved, and we made it through the crises of those days which at the time seemed about as close to hopelessness as we could get. God wouldn’t have any of that, but He let us get right to the brink of what felt like destruction before inching us away from that freefall into despair.

Of course, some of those difficulties were our own doing—past mistakes, bad decisions, things of that nature catching up to us and threatening our survival. We kept our faith because we’d already experienced all the world had to offer before finding Jesus, so we knew there were no answers outside of God for sure.

To bring this around to writing . . . recently on different sites and blogs (including this one), there have been some posts and/or discussions about writing, art, visions, calls, and the like. Along with the opinions given by a lot of us, there was concern registered about what it means to be given the specific direction to write.

In the world, secular authors might call it the “muse” or attribute their leanings, inspirations, and talent to write as coming from any number of possibilities, usually not having anything to do with the one true God.

Each of us who walks with Jesus knows that sometimes we walk through the valley of suffering, whether it be sickness, financial, relationship, trauma, or tragedy of various kinds, life on planet earth is not, nor will it ever be, perfect. As a writer, our experiences in these valleys can contribute to the depth, feeling, and meaning of our work. We can use them to illustrate both sides of tragedy if we can get to the place where hope is.

It is equally valuable to communicate the joy found in living for and serving Christ. By portraying life without cliché, one can also demonstrate the depth of contentment experienced in knowing the Savior of the world.

Regardless of the style of stories you are given, inspired, or called to write, as a Christian it once again comes back to pleasing God. Oftentimes we make assumptions about what that will include without seeking the Lord’s direction for the path after the writing is finished. Those assumptions can lead us down the wrong roads and cause us possible heartache. Not all of us will be conventionally published. Some will write with the distribution of our manuscripts going to a small of number of family, friends, and a few strangers. Some will self-publish. Some will use the writing to express those things that can’t be told any other way, and then that writing will be tucked away in a secret place only to be taken out when a reminder of that time or place is necessary.

You can’t know what God has for you until you ask Him. Until you do. Until you follow. Until you make the effort to understand and accept whatever it is He asks of you. In the end it’ll be the best. Not necessarily the easiest, or your first choice, or even what you can fully understand, but if it’s what He wants for you, the sooner you want it too, the happier and most content you will be.

God, help us. Daily we fight with our flesh’s demands to be first. Spirit of God, lead us in the way everlasting. Help us to be pleasing to you in all we do. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.