Introducing Emily Conrad, one of the rock star regular contributors to Aspiring Author Tuesdays for Seriously Write. She's got a unique voice, one that breaths encouragement and authenticity. She weaves spiritual truth into the common challenges writers face.
I know you'll be blessed by her posts each month.
Is God Telling Me to Stop Writing?
By Emily Conrad
I know you'll be blessed by her posts each month.
Is God Telling Me to Stop Writing?
By Emily Conrad
Suddenly, my throat was tight, my eyes watery, and my resolve gone.
I’d gotten a glimpse of how long the road is to my writing dreams, and discouragement over writing pounced. I was tempted to quit.
The day prior, I’d asked God what He wanted for my writing. I jotted down things I can do to further my writing career. It was a short list that amounted to little more than: I can try.
I followed up with a list of things only God can do:
*Only God can supply the words.
*Only God can open the right doors.
*Only God can see the future to direct me in the present.
*Only God can give me the strength to do all things.
All of this (and more) means He’s the boss of this writing endeavor.
And as the boss, only God can fire me.
If you’re a Christian, He’s your boss, too.
This mindset isn’t unique to me. You’ve probably heard it before, as have I.
It’s encouraging right up until discouragement hits hard, and we’re left wondering if this latest discouragement is God’s way of telling us to move on.
How do we know?
We go back to His Word and learn about who our Boss is and how He operates—and we’d do well to notice, too, who our enemy is and how he operates.
1 Thessalonians provides a nice glimpse of both our Boss and our enemy:
Satan hinders (2:16)
Satan tempts (3:5)
God loves (1:4)
God chooses (1:4)
God approves (2:4)
God empowers (1:5, 2:2)
God tests (2:4)
God calls (2:12)
God avenges (2:16, 4:6)
God sanctifies (3:13, 5:23)
God is faithful (5:24)
Notice Satan’s list is far, far shorter than God’s, and it lacks the power of the verbs associated with our Boss. Looking at these two lists, I identified that the voice of discouragement and condemnation wasn’t my Boss asking for my resignation.
So, instead of quitting, I pictured myself sitting in my Boss’s office, talking through my problem and asking Him what to do.
When I faced setbacks while working in an office, I did that with my human bosses. Funny, my bosses never once said, “Well, I guess you should resign.”
(Okay, actually, when I was a teenager, a trainer did say something like that to me, but that’s a different story ↝ https://emilyconradauthor.blogspot.com/2016/08/stick-with-it.html)
Generally speaking, good bosses don’t do that. Good bosses have hired their employees for a specific purpose that they know those employees are qualified to carry out. Good bosses set their teams up for success. When employees hit a roadblock, a good boss is going to do everything in their power to help their team overcome.
God is not only a good boss, He’s the best.
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5-7 (NET)
When you work with Him, He’ll promote you at the right time, in the right way. In the meantime, don’t let discouragement or anything else dismiss you from the job He’s given you.
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Emily Conrad writes Christian romance and a blog to encourage women of faith. Her debut novel, Justice, released from Pelican Book Group in 2018. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two rescue dogs. She loves Jesus and enjoys road trips to the mountains, crafting stories, and drinking coffee. (It's no coincidence Justice is set mostly in a coffee shop!) She offers free short stories on her website and loves to connect with readers on social media.
Connect with Emily:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/emilyrconrad/
Twitter https://twitter.com/emilyrconrad
Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/justice-emily-conrad/1127841580
