Wandering Wednesdays Blog
My guest today is writer/editor Kathy Ide. I think you will be blessed and challenged by what she has to say about God’s call in the lives of those who write!
“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NKJV)
Have you ever read an article, book, or story that really touched your heart? Did you ever think about what had to happen for that piece to get into your hands?
Before you could read it, someone had to buy it from someplace. That place had to purchase it from a publisher, who had to get it from an author. Before that, the author had to have the idea to write it. Even before that, God had to touch that author’s heart with a call to write.
God knows how long it takes to get a manuscript written (and rewritten, revised, edited, proofread), accepted, and published. He also knows who is going to need to read what He wants you to write, and He knows precisely when those people are going to need it.
Since God knows all that, and since His timing is perfect, we can relax! We can trust that He called us at the right time, and He gave us everything we need to fulfill His plan.
Think again about that piece you read that touched your heart. What if the author had let rejection letters or the cost of a writers’ conference or 
some critical comments from an editor crush her spirit so that she turned her back on God’s calling? Then the moment when God touched your heart would never have happened.
If God is calling you to write, that’s every bit as important as if He were calling you to a foreign missions field. Being a writer is a lot like being a missionary.
Missionaries go through extensive training, including learning the language and cultures of the countries they’re traveling to. Writers need to learn everything they can about how to best reach their target audience.
Missionaries need sponsors. Writers need people who can support them emotionally, financially, and through prayer.
Missionaries are often misunderstood. Your loved ones may question why you’re working so hard at something that seems to have so little reward.
Missionaries suffer squalid conditions and adverse circumstances because they believe in their calling. If God has called you to write, you may have to squeeze in writing time and costs among all your other priorities.
Missionaries are often rejected by the people they are trying to reach. If you submit queries, proposals, or manuscripts to publishing houses, you will be rejected. But you mustn’t let a few—or even several—rejections sway you from the task God has called you to.
A missionary can reach many people. An author can reach countless individuals through a book or article or story.
If God is calling you to be His witness through writing, you have His promise to receive power from the Holy Spirit to fulfill that task.
About the author:
Kathy Ide is a published author/ghostwriter, editor/mentor, and writers’ conference speaker. Her latest book is Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors. Kathy is the founder and coordinator of The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network (www.TheChristianPEN.com) and the Christian Editor Connection (www.ChristianEditor.com). To find out more, visit www.KathyIde.com.
Used by permission from Kathy Ide
18 Comments
Love this post…it is confirmation to me to keep writing in spite of the obstacles. #LandOfMyDreams
blessings!
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Gay! Enduring through the tough times will make your writing better! Keep going!
I’m so glad this inspired you! The people who will one day be blessed by your writing will be very glad you persisted!
I really like how you related writing to being a missionary. Those are vivid points… and I can’t wait to share them with my 16yo daughter who aspires to be a published author. Thank you for sharing!
Blessings!
#LandOfMyDreams
I’m so glad you enjoyed the article, Kelly. Thanks for visiting my blog! I hope to see you back again. I can tell you from my own experience that even Christian fiction can make impressions on readers that are very exciting. I wish your daughter well.
Christian fiction is a VERY powerful medium! Many people’s lives have been dramatically changed by what they’ve read in a novel. God definitely uses Christian fiction.
I love hearing about teenagers who are interested in writing. I can’t help but wonder where I’d be in my writing career if I’d started earlier. Then again, I’m confident I started right when God wanted me to. But I’m excited about what the Lord could do through your daughter’s writing!
Thanks Kathy (and Norma Gail) for this post. My book launched this week after a three year process. It was only the promise of 2 Corinthians 1:4:, I might have quit several times on the challenging road to publication. Words change people’s lives. God’s Word changes people’s eternities. May all believers be “steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” Blessings to you as you launch your book!
Thanks, Lori! I look forward to hosting you on my blog and meeting you at Boot Camp! Have a Merry Christmas!
Congratulations on your book launch, Lori! Words do indeed change people’s lives! I’m confident God will use yours to speak to many.
Kathy, as usual, your thoughts hit home at crucial times. I just found out I waited too long to work out the educational materials for Marsha. However, plans are still going forward for my blog/website. I’ve contacted Jim Willis for help. No, it won’t bring income, but it just feels like the right thing at the right time – finally. I’m sure you know what I mean. Thank you, Gail, for having this special woman guest blog for you. God grant you all peace and joy in this season of His Son’s birth.
Thank you for your kind comments, Cathy! I hope to see you back again! Merry Christmas!
Thank, Cath. I sure wish we’d had more time to talk at Montrose this year! I keep thinking about the conversation we started in the gazebo that ended much too suddenly! I can’t wait to see your new website!
God speaks to us in many ways, that’s for sure.
Yes, and He can always surprise us by the way He does it! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Amen!
Thank you for your words of wisdom, Kathy. This SO TRUE!
Thanks for stopping by! Kathy is a real expert and inspiration as well.