Faith - a Writer's Tool Against Discouragement

There is a wall-hanging I have with this Bible verse – “Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see.”

Faith is ‘hope’ with its work clothes on.

So let me clarify.

In the writing world there are a lot of "what ifs". Doubts creep in to steal our joy, insecurities beats at our confidence, and the temptation to envy shreds at our peace.

It’s a world of uncertainties.

And as with any other thing in our lives, it can consume us.

It can bring with it worry, fear, and anger sending our spirits into a storm of doubt.

But Jesus calms storms, if you haven’t heard. He uses faith.

What is faith? It’s believing in the promises of God, even when what we see or feel contradicts them.

And this faith isn’t some special power of our own making. It’s something GOD gives us. We can’t do it on our own. We CAN’T have faith on our own. It’s a gift….from God.

Even faith in your writing.

If you believe God’s called you to this, then there’s a specific plan for your writing – even if it doesn’t look like it right now.

What? You don’t believe me? You say getting published is as possible as a 90 year old woman having a baby :-)

Yeah, you know where I’m going with this.

Sarah’s a GREAT example. Abraham’s wife knew God’s promises. She was going to have a child, but she was moving into the gray-haired phase of life and there was no crib or even a belly bump in sight.

More waiting.

But Sarah believed God! How do we know? When God told she and Abraham that it was time, she laughed. Not a ‘you’ve gotta be CRAZY” type laugh, but a laugh of pure joy.

She trusted God’s promises and reveled in his fulfillment of them.

Unseen became SEEN.

The writing journey is like this. We can’t see when or how our stories are going to unfold into an ‘in-print’ reality. We can’t know how the Master Author will mold and shape his timeline for our lives into the perfect moment for our unseen to become seen.

But the best way to fight our fears, worries, and insecurities – is FAITH.

And the best way to encourage faith, is remind ourselves of God’s promises.

Here are a few:

1.       Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Are we Works in Progress? You betcha. But we’re created for GOOD works – even our writing. Whether it’s to minister to thousands, or only to our own hearts.

2.       Psalm 37:4- Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Great verse. When we delight ourselves in HIM – and the knowledge of His love permeates our vision, then we desire what HE desires for us. Takes away the envy and the worry :-)

3.       Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

If we have been called to create stories for His glory, then we can have faith that God has a plan.

It may be on the scenic route or down the road less travelled, but God always fulfills his promises.

He gives us Faith to believe in His promises – and that’s one of the greatest tools we can have as writers…and as kids of the King.

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Pepper Basham writes Blue Ridge romance peppered with grace and humor. When she's not torturing her fellow Alleycats at The Writers Alley, she can be found at her blog, Words Seasoned with Salt, at her university job, or hanging out with her family in the beautiful mountains of Northeastern Tennessee.