As I mentioned in another blog, one of my steps to writing is to identify any stressor I may be facing. One of my stressors has been unbelief.
It sounds like: “I don’t believe I have what it takes to sustain this writing life.” I wonder, Is the time, energy, sometimes lack of pay, worth it?
A key step to process His truth is to remember what He has done or showed me.
He reminds me that He has told me to write my story over and over again. I’ll share just one instance in which He used a physical sign. I was driving from Kansas City to Tennessee, after Christmas several years ago, which was only a week after my steady freelance gig from my old employer was ending. I usually listen to music rather than radio programs, and yet, on this day, I listened to a Christian talk radio program. The host was talking about angels among us, and I looked ahead in a sea of billboards, and there was a sign in large letters that said, WRITE YOUR STORY in large letters. Small letters, Mark Twain’s Home, Hannibal, Missouri. I have driven that road dozens of times since then, looking for that billboard, and it is no longer there. I believe an angel directed my eyes to that sign.
So, if God has told me to write, He has equipped me for the task. Remembering this story and all the other words He has spoken to my heart about writing reminds me that any unbelieving thoughts about my writing abilities or investment are lies.
The next step is to process the truth from God’s Word.
If you aren’t used to seeking out answers in His Word, it may seem overwhelming. Here is what I do:
- Do an Internet search on Bible verses on the opposite of my stressor, which in this case, is belief.
A favorite verse is: Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours (Mark 11:24, ESV).
I write out the scripture long hand in my journal. Sometimes just reading and writing one verse is enough to combat the lies if I have already spent some time abiding with Christ that day.
Other times, I go deeper. If I keep going, here’s what I do next:
2. Get different nuances of meaning from other versions
I either use my printed Bibles to look up other versions—I have the NKJV, the Passion Translation, and the Ampliflied Classic, or I may go to Bible Gateway and click and read all English translations.
3. Seek out the full meanings of key words in the original language
I also go to my e-Sword LT app, and click on the read button, and although the verse is in the King James, I can click on any word to see its original meaning in the original biblical language. In this case, in Mark 11:24, the word translated as believe in the original language is Greek, and the word is pisteuo, which means to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), that is credit, by implication to entrust one’s spiritual well-being to Christ ):—believe, commit (to trust), put in trust with.
I write out the definition of the word too in my journal.
The word believe here means committing to something or crediting something as being done. This word’s connotation is so much deeper than my maybe if, maybe someday version of belief that I sometimes have.
As I write out the verse and its definition, the expanded meaning begins to sink into my head. I sense myself receiving:
If I believe that I have received the gift of writing, if that belief has been validated by me making a living writing, editing, and publishing, which it has, and I believe I am to share what God has taught me in written form with those who are a few steps behind me, which I do, then I have to keep doing this work…It’s one of my life’s missions.
The steps I have just said may be enough to combat the lies. Other times, I need more convincing. I’ll go over how I continue processing His truth in part two of this blog.
