First, I’d love to have more feedback on the Charismatic Characters poll. If you haven’t participated yet, please take a moment to let your opinion out. 
Second, on Monday, voting for the Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction – Readers’ Choice gets under way. There’s still time to read the minimum two required nominations to participate because the voting will continue throughout the month of August.
And now, faith. The first Mount Hermon Christian Writers’ Conference I attended, Ted Dekker was one of the speakers. One of the most impressive, inspirational parts of the conference was his tale recounting his journey to publication, including the part where he and his family started selling off some of their non-essentials in order to make ends meet. Ted, you see, believed God had called him to write, but he was running out of money.
If God calls me to the task of writing, should I be afraid of what lies ahead?
Over and over, the believer has God’s promise that He will be with him, go before him, live inside him, and will never leave him or forsake him or fail him. As a result, we’re told not to be shocked, not to be afraid, not to tremble or be dismayed.
Why? Because God is going to make us best sellers like Ted Dekker? We have no such promise.
We do know that God is good, that He is trustworthy, and that His plans involve eternal matters, so we can put our unqualified confidence in Him, knowing that light affliction might await us now, but now is not the end of the story.
Any novelist knows, conflict deepens the closer we get to the climactic scene. But how sweet the resolution when the character faces Mount Doom and survives.
When Christ Who is our Life is with us and for us, should we expect less? Do we think we novelists can write a better story than the Author of life?
Too often our problem is expecting resolution in the middle of the story, or expecting a conflict-free story.
Faith sees the big picture, however, not just the dark night of the soul when all of life seems to be at odds with our calling. If God put me on this path, I might ask, why are things hard?
I suggest there are several possible answers, though I am sure there are others. Things might be hard in order to:
- glorify His name by giving me patience through the uncertainty
- teach me what I need to know to be a better writer
- teach me what I need to know to love Him more truly and trust Him more deeply
- prepare and bring those who will read my work
- encourage others who come along behind
- glorify His name by accomplishing He purposes through my writing in His time
When Daniel was caught praying and sentenced to the lion’s den, did that mean God had failed or abandoned His servant? We who know the end of the story can say emphatically, Of course not!
Yet too often we look at the lions-den circumstances of our own lives, our own writing careers, and think God isn’t going to come through for us. He’s let us down. Forgotten us. Failed.
Oh, we of little faith. Too little faith!
Lovely post, Becky.
In this world we will have tribulation.
But this isn’t the end of the story.
Christ, our hero, has overcome the world.
He triumphed. He faced his dark night of the soul. The climax is past and we await the denouement.
In his light our own dark nights seem not so dark, eh? We still have the tribulation, but we have his love lighting the way, covering us, comforting us. What a good God!
Very good points. As an author who is a Christ-follower, I have had my share of waiting. Your post is very inspiring in that we shouldn’t wallow in our waiting, but we should do and be all we can be in this very moment.
I know part of my waiting has been because I had not yet finished preparing. I still needed to hone my craft, to learn how to consistently write memorable, multi-layered characters, to grow in my understanding of the business, and so on.
But on the other hand, some of my waiting has had little to do with me. I enjoy reading and writing speculative fiction, but the CBA market has little room for speculative writers (Ted Dekker being one of the exceptions). As I’ve prayed about this, I’ve asked God to open my eyes to how I could follow the passion I believe he gave me and still work within and around these constraints.
I’m still on my journey to answer those questions, but so far I’ve learned that being published by a big CBA house is only one of many ways I can still do all God has called me to be. What I’ve had to learn is that my definition of success has been quite limited. And I wonder if my narrow scope has blinded me to all the ways God can work in and through me to His glory. This industry is in the midst of immense change… maybe there is opportunity in that change for me?
Thanks for your words on how you deal positively with waiting. It reminds me of Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
I wanted to vote for the 2010 Clives Staple book, but I can’t find a link. Only th3 closed one from 2009. So how can we vote?
Ironic… My husband and I were talking about my writing last night. I told him it felt like God is asking me to write in the dark. I don’t see where my writing is going to go (or if it will even be published). But I know I am to write and be faithful in the dark (and leave the rest to God).
Hi, Cathi,
I’m on West Coast time and have just started work, so the survey isn’t up yet. Check back later today. Or if you’ve subscribed to the CSA site, you’ll get an email notification.
Becky