How Can A Writer Follow God?

by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth
Writers are constantly being bombarded with messages about what they should write, who they should read, or who to follow. It seems a new product or website springs up every week to give a better way to get published or increase your platform.
It’s easy to get confused with all the noise. As Christians, we want to obey God’s will. But it isn’t always clear what that is. Should I write articles, or poems, fiction or memoirs? We aren’t always given a clear path.
How do we follow God when we aren’t sure what He wants?
Go In God’s PowerIn I Kings 13, we have the story of God sending a man of God to deliver a message to the king of Israel. It’s interesting that nowhere in this chapter is the man’s name given. He is only called the man of God. (Which is not a bad title at all.)
When he confronted the king for his disobedience, the king decided he’d had enough and pointed toward him. But before he could speak, God shriveled his hand with leprosy. When the king pleaded with the man of God to pray for him, God withstood his hand. In the man’s own power, the king planned to punish him. But when God interfered, a miracle happened, and the king changed his attitude.
Be Faithful To God’s CallInstead of going to the king’s feast and taking the seat of honor, the man of God refused. He said, “I have been told by the word of the Lord, ‘You must not eat bread or drink water or return by the way you came.’”
It seems there would be little harm in spending more time with the king. But the man of God knew what God had told him.
We don’t always have the answers to what we should do in every situation we face. What kind of stories or articles should I write? Where should I submit my work? I have so many questions that it makes my head spend.
So, it is important that we stay obedient to what we know. By staying obedient in the small things, it prepares us for what else God wants.
Beware of DistractionsWhile the man of God was heading home, a prophet in Bethel heard what happened to the king and went to intercept him. The prophet caught up to him and asked him to return to have dinner at his house. The man told him what God had commanded.
Then the prophet revealed to the man that he was a prophet and an angel had told him to invite the man of God to return to the prophet’s house.
The man of God had been clearly told God’s will. He had been so careful to follow God’s will to the letter. But here, he ignored what he knew he should do and returned to have dinner with the prophet.
While they were sitting at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet. He turned to the man of God and told him he had disobeyed God’s word and he would die. The next day, the man of God was killed by a lion.
There is a saying to be careful not to let doing good get in the way of doing what’s right. When we’re not sure what God’s plan is, we should do what we know to do.
Trying to live a Christian life is frustrating. We have to make many decisions without a clear path. At least I know I do. But that is why following God takes faith.
Now faith is the assurance of things that what we hope for will come about and the certainty that what we cannot see exists. (Hebrew 11:1) It is by walking in this faith that we learn what God will do through us. And we show it to others.
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Tim Suddeth is a stay-at-home dad and butler for his wonderful, adult son with autism. He has written numerous blogs posts, short stories, and three novels waiting for publication. He is a frequent attendee at writers’ conferences, including the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference and a member of Word Weavers and ACFW. He lives near Greenville, SC where he shares a house with a bossy Shorky and three too-curious Persians. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter, as well as at www.timingreenville.com and www.openingamystery.com.
Featured Image: Photo by Junior REIS on Unsplash