by Allen Arnold
When you sit down to write,
you become aware of many things. How the words are flowing. Whether you are in the zone. How comfortable your chair is...or isn’t. If you’re on track to hit your daily word count.
But would you notice if God
didn’t show up?
I find it fascinating that
when Moses was called to lead his people through the desert, he placed God’s
presence before the very mission
itself. He felt so passionate about this Moses said he’d call the entire trip off
if God didn’t lead it (Exodus 33:12 – 18).
And by leading – Moses
didn’t mean that God simply bless their trip in some vague way.
Moses was hungry for God’s
tangible glory and presence. His deepest longing – to see the face of God – was
rooted in a desire for intimate fellowship during the journey.
He literally demanded that
God join him on the trip. You can bet he’d notice if God didn’t show up.
So back to my earlier
question. In your writing, would you notice if God didn’t show up?
Do you feel you can lean on craft, discipline
and past experience to tell a story even when you don’t sense God’s presence?
Or do you so depend on writing with
him in Creative Fellowship that you’d call off a day of writing if you knew you
were doing it on your own?
Because really there are
only two ways to write.
Alone or with God.
Sometimes it’s easy to
forget that the Giver of your gift waits for you to invite him into the
creative process.
I think God loves it when
our posture is like that of Moses.
God doesn’t just want to
be asked to bless our efforts or watch us strike out on our own to prove
what we can do.
He wants us to crave him.
To refuse to move forward
without him.
When you invite God into
your writing time, you enter into a new realm of artistry. You are creating
with the One who created the mountains, music, whales, sunsets, and stars.
(If that thought doesn’t
take your breath away, pause until it does.)
You get to enter a creative
playground with God where you discover and develop story together. It’s an
active process - like tossing a baseball back and forth. Something you can’t do
alone.
What the world needs most
is the warmth from the glow off the face of those who spend time with God. And
that only happens with writers who savor the presence of God more than even story
itself.
It’s the difference of a
storyteller who sits around a small campfire telling her own stories...and a
storyteller who’s face is glowing so bright she doesn’t need a campfire to warm
the souls of those listening.
You can’t fake that kind
of glow.
Just ask Moses.
So let me ask you...
What are you and God creating together today?
Allen Arnold loves the epic adventure God has set before him. From the mountains of Colorado, he leads Content & Resources for Ransomed Heart Ministries (led by John Eldredge). Before that, he spent 20 years in Christian Publishing - overseeing the development of more than 500 novels as founder and Publisher of Thomas Nelson Fiction. He was awarded the ACFW Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. But that doesn't really describe the man. Allen savors time with his family, craves the beach, drinks salsa by the glass, is hooked on the TV series "Once Upon a Time" and is passionate about helping storytellers tell better stories from an awakened heart.
