Is God Calling Me to Be a Writer?

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1 Corinthians 12:7-12 NLT 

“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. [8] To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. [9] The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. [10] He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. [11] It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have. [12] The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ.”

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The Bible says that each of us are given gifts from the Holy Spirit. 

This is an exciting promise. When I read 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11, I am encouraged in knowing that Holy Spirit has instilled special gifts in me. He is calling me to participate in building His Kingdom.  

 There were many times that I questioned if God was calling me to be a writer. If you’re reading this, you may be at that place too. I understand. 

I had been writing for years, but I was also working in the “real world”. I knew that as a contributing citizen of society, I should be “working”, right? 

 All the while, there was a constant nudge and feeling that God was calling me to do something else. Can you relate? 

 If you are asking the question: Is God calling me to be a writer? I think there is something inside that may already be pushing you toward an answer.  

 No, I can’t confirm your calling. Only God can do that. But I do have some questions for you. 

Do you:

• …have Christian-based story ideas that could help other believers? 
• …have Ideas about how you can help others read the Bible or pray? 
• …have other Biblical knowledge that could help others grow? 
• …love learning from the Bible? 
• …love Writing? 

These could all be indicators of what God is calling you to do. Again, I can’t tell you that He’s calling you to write, but I would like to offer advice on how to seek Him for answers. 

Maybe I can give you some insight from my experience that led me to discover the calling God has on my life to write. 

Insight #1 Seek God for guidance by studying daily 

Of course, the first thing we should do is seek God daily. We need to ask Him for guidance and instruction in His calling. 

The closer we move toward Him, the closer He gets to us. Seeking God for what He wants to do in our lives takes patience and faith.  

We don’t always get answer right away. Believe me, I know. But when I have that nudge from the Holy Spirit, I really try to go in on it. I pray about it and ask God to speak to me. 

 Again, it doesn’t always happen in the moment I ask. Even during my Bible Study time – but, sometimes it does.  

There are other times when I get an answer during a later Bible Study, while I’m journaling, or in a conversation with a friend. I have a couple of friends who will just start talking and confirm everything that God is speaking to me. It’s amazing! They are not even trying to do it. It is just evident that we share the same Holy Spirit.  

I’ve learned to be patient and wait for God’s timing. That’s not always easy, but it’s the only way. 

I just encourage you to start a Bible study practice (If you haven’t already). If you need help with that, I’ve written two posts that may be helpful to you: 

5 Bible Study Practices That Promote a Love for God’s Word 

5 Bible Study Tools to Encourage a Love for Studying 

I believe both of these could be helpful to you. 

But if you have a study routine, dig deeper into your study. Journal what you are asking God to answer for you. I just believe that writing helps us to look deeper into our souls and get the words out. 

God does speak, and if you truly believe He is calling you to be a writer, seek Him consistently…daily, because it’s necessary. 

Insight #2 Repetition   

Is it not going away, no matter what you do? No matter how much you try to climb the corporate ladder and you try to make more money than you ever thought. Does it just keep coming back? 

I read the book Discerning the Voice of God, by Priscilla Shirer #ad. One of the ways she describes hearing from God is through repetition. When I read that it made so much sense for me, because there are times when I’m seeking God for something and I will hear something on TV, then through a friend or family member. Honestly, I’ve seen billboards with messages that relate to what I’m praying about. 

When God is sending a message He knows His people can be so distracted that we miss it the first two or however many times. He loves when we seek Him. He wants a relationship with us.He wants to communicate with us. 

Sometimes, I may know and let fear stop me. Or, I may convince myself that I just thought up something and I don’t want to move without knowing it’s God.  

I think there are pros and cons to moving right away and not moving right away. Sometimes, we say “God told us to do…” and it wasn’t from Him at all. Then we are in a mess that we have to turn to God to get us out of . But there can be disobedience in not moving when God says move. That’s why we need to seek Him daily so that we are sure that God is calling us for His purpose. 

Remember, God will confirm His instruction through His word. 

The Bible says that those God calls, He does equip. So don’t allow fear and disobedience to get in the way of His calling. 

Insight #3 Can you see writing as ministry? 

Even though there are blessings in following God’s plans, we should always see His call as ministry. God’s plan always leads back to Him. He loves His creation and He wants to guide His people to Him. 

One of His blessings is that He will allow us to be part of His plan. No, He doesn’t need us but when we partner with Him we will be the participants in some amazing things. Most of all leading others into relationship with God.  

So, if you feel that God is calling you to write, it is important to realize He is calling you into ministry. Remember, we are the church. Yes, many of us are equipped in a building labeled church, but we are to take what we learn and share it with our families, friends and the world.  

We should have the message: “Jesus loves you and so do I”. That can definitely be demonstrated through a writing ministry.
 

Insight #4 How I know God’s calling on my life 

 Since I was a child, I have loved storytelling. Whether it was me writing my own stories, or getting lost in a book. As a teen, I wrote plays about teenage life. (They would have been called “Coming of Age” stories). 

Writing is just a part of me. It truly is something I would do, if I didn’t get paid for it. For many years, I didn’t get paid for it, but it was always an outlet for me. I love being creative and I love bringing characters’ stories to life.  

Most of my life, I have worked full-time jobs. My mindset would stray from writing as a career. I would get lost in trying to get promoted or finding jobs that paid more. I was successful at finding more money.  

Then I became a teacher and changing jobs changed. But no matter where I was, someone say, “I read your book. It was good!” And they would start talking about my characters, and even asking me about why I wrote them the way I did.  

Some people would recommend me to their friends and family for help with writing books. 

 I tried to “get away” from writing, because I didn’t have traditional publishing or an agent. I didn’t know how to find it – at first. Then I heard about “Super-writers” who were turned down by numerous publishers, before someone recognized them for their efforts. Super-writers are those household names that we all have read their works. 

 I just didn’t want to go through all of that. I knew that God was calling me to write and I heard about self-publishing and I knew I wanted to go that route. Of course, it’s hard work and you may not have to go that route, but this isn’t a decision I regret at all. 

So, what should you do next?  

Try it out! Just get started. Write a blog or book. Write a short story or poem. Just start.  

God is the Ultimate Creator. We know that He created us in His image. That means we should create – It’s not odd that He would call us to create. 

If you don’t know where to start, I found the company “Create and Go” a couple of years ago and I took their Start Your Blog Biz #ad course. It helped me to get my blog set up and I recommend their course.  

Just take some time to get started. You don’t have to be perfect. Believe me, I know that for a fact.
 

Here is a free tip:  

Use the writing Process to write. That’s what I use. 

• Brainstorming – Come up with ideas 
• Outlining – Make a Plan 
• Writing – Write your story, book, blog – whatever you’re writing 
• Self-editing – Edit what you wrote 
• Book Cover Creation – Create or pay someone to create your book cover 
• Self-Publishing – Publish on a self-publishing site like Amazon KDP 

I’ve heard this question a lot, “What if people don’t like my writing?  My advice is to keep going. I’ve had some bad reviews and for a little while, I let it stop me. But, I had to remind myself that God called me. That I know for sure. And when I look back, I have way more good reviews than I have bad reviews. 

 Some people won’t like what I write for valid reasons, some won’t like it because they are not looking to like it – and that’s okay. I won’t let that stop me from what I know God has called me to do. 

My advice to you: Remember His calling even if you get bad reviews. Also, keep learning – Sometimes bad reviews can be helpful (sometimes not so much). If you can find substance in a bad review, take it and learn from it, but don’t allow it to stop you. 

We should always be working to get better at our craft anyway. A bad review maybe something that you already know that you need to work on. So, the person reviewing may just be giving you help to work on what you know you already need to do. 

Here is one of those repeating messages I’ve been getting: “It’s about progress, not perfection”. If we never started, we would never get better, and the more we work the better we get. I hope you’re hearing me. Keep going! Focus on God’s work and don’t let anyone stop you. 

I’ve been writing since I was a child and I’m still learning as a go. But no matter what, I always put out my best and sometimes there are mistakes. This is real life, there will be mistakes. But everything I write comes from my heart.  
 

Conclusion 

I am always looking for God in my daily routine and habits. There is no one I want to hear from more than Him. He has the answers to my future.

If you are at a point where you are questioning if God is calling you, seek Him for answers. Pay attention when you ask.
 

Also, be present in life. Look for repetition. What is God saying to you when you study His word? Are you being transparent with Him. Yes, I know He already knows, but He loves you so much and He wants to hear from You.

Try journaling your thoughts, whether it’s creative or your way of talking to God. I am a advocate for writer’s journaling. It’s so important that we are exploring our brains.  

Maya Angelou said, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have.” (Goalcast.com) I think I use this quote in everything I write. I’ve seen how my ideas expand as I write. 

I may have writer’s block one day, but the next day, I can write 1000 words in 30 minutes. I’ve learned a “semi-cure” for writer’s block. That’s the outline or plan for my stories. 

One last piece of advice, write from the heart and you will be fine. But try to clean up your writing as much as you can. Have a trusted friend or family member look over it. There will be mistakes, this is real life, but do the best you can. Someone is waiting to hear your voice.

Until next time, I wish you blessed seeking and happy writing. 

Aisha
# writing #writing #writingCommunity #Christianwritingcommunity

This post was originally created in 2022.