Just A Writer

Do you ever feel like “just a writer?” “Just” a wannabe author? “Just” a wordsmith who spends hours inventing characters and hoping someone will read your work?

I encourage you to throw out the word “just” from your thinking. Treat it like yesterday’s trash that’s contaminating your mind. You are not “just” a writer. You are “A WRITER!”

So why are writers—especially Christian writers—important? Because when you feel that niggling urge to create words that are meaningful, then being a writer is “A CALLING.”

There are billions of folks in this world with numerous callings on their life. Some are called to heal, some to organize, some to preach God’s Word, some to be leaders, some to be helpers. The list can go on. But to be called to write is unique in that you can reach people around the world without so much as a passport.

I know many writers with debilitating illnesses. Many who have difficulty traveling for one reason or another. Some with responsibilities that anchor them to their homes. Yet the message in their words can reach hundreds, thousands, even millions, without so much as using a gallon of gasoline.

“But all I write is fiction. How is that a calling?”

There are thousands of folks around the world who would never think of picking up a Christian non-fiction book. You could find them running away from a Max Lucado book as though rabid dogs were on their heels. Fiction is less threatening, more entertaining, and, if a writer is good, they can slip in the gospel message without scaring off the reader. Christian fiction might be the only Gospel message they’ve ever heard. Who knows where those seeds might sprout?

Another blessing about writing is that you can create a variety of messages, and not just in your usual genre. Most writers have blogs. These allow writers to create words that can fulfill promptings that the Holy Spirit places on your mind and heart. While some in the writing field encourage writers to always stay within the expected theme (such as historical fiction), I choose to believe that God wants to use our words to minister and enlighten the audience He has created for our writing.

These last few weeks have revealed horrifying videos about abortion taking place in our country. Although I write historicals, I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to create words that will hopefully open people’s eyes in a new way to the atrocities taking place in contemporary America. If you wish to read that blog, you can click here.

So the next time you think you are “just” a writer, praise God for the calling He has placed in your heart. And get writing!

Vintage Typewriter courtesy of: Just2shutter through freedigitalphotos.net

Photo of man writing courtesy of: tiramisustudio through freedigitalphotos.net