motivations

Questions From a Writer’s Journal

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

I find as I grow older that I still don’t know the answers to the questions that I had when I was younger but am more at peace with not knowing. But I am discovering along the way that the Holy Spirit is helping me to begin asking some of the right questions.

I thought it might be helpful for others who also for one reason or another enjoy putting words together. If you are a Christian writer then we share a struggle with questions that are unique to that calling. Why am I writing? What are my motivations and goals? Money? Notoriety? Guilt? Loneliness? If we had x-ray vision and could see into hearts we might find out that some books we enjoyed reading have been born from motivations we never imagined. This morning I was touched when I came across this passage from the Apostle Paul as he invites us to look over his shoulder and peer into his writer’s heart.

Take a moment and let his words sink in and then ask yourself as I did today; “Are my words really born out of my own tears and personal experience? Do I really care about my readers or am I simply vying for their attention? Do I have a heart of love for my readers and are my goals for their good or is it all about me?”

Those are hard questions but I am convinced that finding the answers is more than worth the time and effort. What about you? What kinds of questions are you struggling with today? May you truly have a blessed week as you seek the Lord and write as He gives you stories to tell and words to say.

Saturday Morning Confessions

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KIMG1809

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:2

Because I find it hard in a social forum like this to be transparent I rarely share my personal struggles. It relish safety as in the words of Paul Simon’s song, “I am a rock I am an island And a rock feels no pain.” But to pull the curtain back just a bit this morning I thought maybe someone else may benefit from my struggle this year to write.

About the beginning of 2017 I decided to write a full year of devotional readings. I confess that while it seemed a little daunting I figured that I could scoot through the work fairly easily. “After all” I told myself, “short devotional writing is what I have done for a long time.” While January – March did indeed fly by pretty rapidly I discovered some things about myself and about writing that I thought might be an encouragement to others.

Writing well is a lot of hard work! Not to mention leg cramps from hours at the key board and the frustration of trying to format material that insists on slipping out from under my control!

I am not really a professional writer in the way that a some in my family and a few of the readers of my blog are. I do have a degree in English but it feels like I just don’t get it, in a lot of ways and others seem to race ahead of me in accomplishing things I haven’t even thought of.

Everything of eternal worth must be learned first at the feet of Jesus. Filling pages with words, even words that people enjoy reading doesn’t accomplish anything if they don’t flow from the heart of God.

God loves me and is pleased with my best for Him even if it is not highly successful in the eyes of others. Twenty five years ago God asked me a question concerning my nursing home ministry, “Would you do it for one?” It felt like a light switched on in a dark room and I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a mirror.  Just what was the reason that God had sent me? Was it so people would praise me or think I was a pretty nice guy? Or did my heart join with the love of Jesus Christ for forgotten and abandoned people, one by one left alone wishing that someone could sit and spend a little time at their side?

So whether you are struggling to put words on a page, leading a small group or trying to get through to your kids, take a deep breath and sit down for a minute. Now relax, close your eyes if it helps and remember. One day Jesus Christ visited one single man by the pool of Bethesda. To this day no one knows his name but He was not forgotten by the master and neither are we. Few people may ever know your name but Jesus does. Now open your eyes, stand back up and get back in the fight! God loves what you do whatever the results when you do it all for Him; if only just for one