Writer’s Block & the LORD

As a writer, my work is not an unceasing process. It comes in fits and starts. There are days when I’ll write from morning until evening. Other times I’ll write five hundred words and be unable to continue. Worse yet are the days where no writing occurs at all and I’m left feeling like I accomplished nothing of interest.

Writer’s block, which I’ve written about a few times in the past, is not an enemy that can be conquered in any true sense. It can be cast aside for a time, but I find that it creeps in unwanted back into the author’s life before he or she knows it. It’s a persistent threat and leaves one on the verge of disappointment and regret.

But it’s not inescapable. It’s a lurking menace, to be sure, but those who write will, I think, return to their craft in due time. We who pursue the art of creative communication are ever pressed to share our work and outlook with the world. I find that even in my laziest, most mind-blocked moments as an author, my eyes look forward to a future time when I will write again.

Because of who I am, I must strive to write. Writer’s block descends upon my path like a sluice gate, but the river of my passion for words seeps through the gaps. The waters may be halted for a time, yes. Yet I am never cut off from the ability to create, develop, and envision.

In the past year, I’ve been increasingly evangelistic with my posts. I hold to the ideal that we must share the good news of Jesus Christ with the world, which is hopelessly lost and depraved without Him. Imagine my sorrow, then, when I am unable (or unwilling?) to write for the Lord my God. It grieves me when I cannot glorify Him by my words as I’ve been accustomed. Failure to honor Him with my writing is perhaps my greatest fear of disappointment.

But I’m mindful that this too will pass. Indeed, as I write this post, I feel a burden on my shoulders lifting. I can’t help thinking of the greatness of the Lord Jesus, that in my weakness His strength is made known:

“Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-9)

Sin, like writer’s block, is a perpetual machine, and one which afflicts the believer. The gears are always turning and the devil keeps the weaknesses of the flesh and the allure of the world ever in the mind. How great is the Lord our God that He promises us freedom from the rusted cogs of this machine?

“Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in flesh like ours under sin’s domain, and as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be accomplished in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4)

Christ fulfilled the law. None could keep it, for they walked in sinful flesh. But Christ’s righteousness has been passed onto His children, the believers in Him (John 1:12-13). We are no longer slaves to sin, but are free to worship Him in His glory.

“All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Romans 8:14-15)

God says in His Scripture that we are not born again into a new slavery but that we have been adopted by our loving Heavenly Father. We have passed from death to life in Christ Jesus (John 5:24). Thanks and praise be to Him that we can rejoice in our salvation, knowing that He is a merciful and kind Lord!

So when I’m struggling with etching my words onto a page or nursing the injuries caused by sin (others and my own), I can take solace that He has proved for me the ultimate victory. I may stumble in my task, but it’s only a flesh wound. The Spirit is that great warrior of life, who changes the believer from day-to-day, ever onward sanctifying him before the Lord. He heals and He saves.

Writer’s block, like this flesh and this world, is only temporary. It is not and has never been permanent. It is an insidious parasite (though not truly comparable to sin, despite how I’ve been utilizing these metaphors) worming its way into my mind, yet the cure has been foretold and already the doctor is purging it from my system.

Authors: when in doubt, just write. It doesn’t have to be good or meaningful. It probably won’t be your best work. But the best remedy for writer’s block is striving to ignore its very hold on your person.

Believers: when suffering from sin and the afflictions of the flesh, know that the Lord your God is a Perfect Savior. He is not surprised by your actions, your thoughts, or your ailments. He cares and provides for you. As Paul says, His power is perfected in your weakness. Run to Him, that Great Shepherd, knowing that He loves you and will not lose a single sheep in the fields of ruin.

So I write. So I pray. Because these are the things I must do, not for my own glory, but His. The Lord is ever faithful to His children. How then can I do anything else but honor Him in the manner in which He has gifted me?

Thank you, Lord God Almighty. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). May we believe never forget Your Word and the hope and promise You have granted us. Though we are often faithless, You are faithful. Your will be done.

Thanks for reading this post. I hope you’ve enjoyed and found the words within useful. And if you have not yet come to the Lord, please keep in mind that He always fulfills His promises, for He cannot lie. Who are you, then, to resist Him? I testify, and more importantly the Word testifies, that He is Good. He is God.