Where Is God in My Writing Efforts?

I often put dates beside verses in my Bible. When I run across the verses at a later time, the dates remind of events and times in my life when that verse meant something special to me, such as bringing comfort or a challenge.

I have in my Bible a lot of notations beside Psalm 138:8~~”The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever—do not abandon the work of your hands.”

The first notation I put beside Psalm 138:8 is “Palace and TS 6-30-88.” In other words, on June 30, 1988, I laid claim to the promise that God would fulfill His purposes for my writing (How Can You Lose a Palace? is another writing project of mine.) Beside that date are the words “Still waiting 6-9-88” and then “11-4-89.” After that, I didn’t write any more dates.

I have never been one to claim that I know what God is going to do. I do not see that verse promising that He will see my writings published, even though from a human perspective one might be tempted to conclude that. Notice that it says His purposes, not mine, and He can accomplish all kinds of purposes in me in the process of my efforts to get published. Fine.

In more recent years, another verse has spoken to my heart in relation to my writing—2 Thessalonians 1:11~~“…we constantly pray for you, that our God might count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.”

That verse blows me away—every good purpose of mine? I have trouble imagining that God using His power to fulfill “every good purpose of mine and every act prompted by my faith.” I still don’t claim to know whether God is going to see Tangled Strands published. What I do know, for now, is that He can’t make that happen if I don’t do my part in getting it into the shape it needs to be in.

In my March 30 blog titled "Venturing a Writers' Conference," I told how God worked in a special way for me to attend one. Since then, when wondering if I should do this, I've often gone back to that provision to remind myself of that evidence of His blessing.

This past month I got another one. I entered the first fifteen pages of my story in the Genesis Contest. The responses I got were helpful with its shortcomings, but more inportant to me were the encouraging comments about my writing. I see them as another sign of God's blessing on this pursuit.