There are a number of instruments of praise mentioned in Scripture: trumpet, a long metal horn flared at the end, the harp, the lyre, the timbrel, the pipe, the flute, other stringed instruments and cymbals.
Sometimes I struggle with comparing myself with other writers. God has made a variety of instruments of worship to praise Him. Just as with our writing, given as a gift to sacrifice back to Him as praise. He has created us and our gifts to be unique. Don't wish for a trumpet if you were created to be a cymbal to praise Him.
Psalm 33:3: Sing to him a new song;
Play skillfully and shout for joy.
Our writing is worship, pure incense offered back up to the creator of all. We want to give Him our best. Here he says "play skillfully." I felt he was using this verse to teach me personally that he desires me to grow in the gift he has given me. He has given these gifts and he helps us to grow in them by providing the resources we need to grow. We should desire to grow to "play skillfully for him" rather than out of a sense of competitiveness. It is not a race for publication, or to final in a contest BUT to bless Him.
God himself gives us this work of praise. Let's always remember there is nothing to boast about in ourselves. God uses our writing to help us put our trust in God. Many times he has taught me a spiritual lesson through the life of my character. Other times he has used the process of writing itself to humble me and show me nothing is accomplished outside of Him. He puts the very songs in our mouths and the words on our pens.
Lately, I've been struggling in a ministry God has called me to participate in. If we are not spending quantity and quality of time basking in the presence of Jesus, we cannot be vessels to pour out to others. In our writing life or anywhere else in our life.
Is your well dry? Why not sit at His feet. Use your writing gifts in other ways that please Him.
Do a word study on incense and praise. Apply what you learn to your writing life.
Write a hymn or chorus to Him. Your writing makes Jesus smile. This is a word that one of the Alley cats shared with me and it blessed me. Whose opinions are we giving the most weight to when it comes to our writing?
Thank Him for the gift of writing. Appreciate the giver of the gift above the gift itself. Are you spending as much time praising Him as you are on your writing?
Do you have a favorite verse that has influenced you in your writing?
Do you have a favorite verse that has influenced you in your writing?
Julia enjoys writing women's fiction whenever she can find a chair free of smushed peanut butter sandwiches and lego blocks. She is a wife and homeschooling mama of two littles. She also a reviewer for Library Journal, Christian Library Journal, and Title Trakk.
