God's Promises to Writers Series

Establishing His Writers

God's Promises to Writers Series, II
Net's Notes Tuesdays

On my writing office wall, I have many inspirational quotes. Here’s one based loosely on Jeremiah 32:41:

I desire to establish you
with all My heart
and all My soul

Those words have often encouraged me. I see a promise from God in that phrase.

When God calls writers, He’s already got in mind how He will equip us: training, books, workshops, conferences, friendships, mentors, connections. He understands so much better than we do how long the road ahead will be as we learn and grow as writers.

For our part, we bring willingness to cooperate with Gods’ plan and a desire to glorify Him in our writing. (Just getting to this point has taken me a long while, so don’t be discouraged if you find yourself still trying to figure out God’s plan or feeling confused. Wait on Him. He’ll show you as you press into Him.)

Look at all that happens in the establishing process:

We cooperate with training and learning, even though our egos undergo some “going under.”

We cooperate as God fine tunes (or overhauls *grin*) our temperament and prepares us to be blessed.

We suffer disappointments and learn to trust Him and wait on Him.

We learn how to interact with people on a global scale (consider the reach of social networking sites and the etiquette we all get to learn).

And as He’s doing all this marvelous work behind the scenes, He’s establishing us, strengthening us.

The LORD will perfect His work in me (Psalm 138:8a)

In other words, the LORD will establish me. I have two favorite Scriptures tied to this idea.

But the God of all grace,
He calling us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
after you have suffered a little,
He will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
(1 Peter 5:10)

I’ve faced a few rejections and disappointments lately in writing and that verse ministers peace to my weary writing soul.

The next one has been a favorite for years. I couldn’t believe the gem I found when I discovered this verse:

And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands. (Psalm 90:17)

As I love gazing on the beauty of God, that verse means so much to me. I believe the closer we are to Him, the more of His beauty we’ll see. And that will influence our “work,” or in our case, our writing work. Makes a good prayer.

As His writers, we can trust God to establish us as we follow Him. He is faithful, and He will keep His promises.