Tuesday, August 28, 2012

God: The Author Of Us All

Writers have a unique way of communicating.

I started attending a couple writers’ groups about two years ago. I figured I’d get to meet other writers and learn what they were writing, and hopefully get some feedback to help me improve. I had no idea I’d have to learn a new language!

Things like POV, WIP, and voice were just some of the terms among them. You mean voice doesn’t mean how loud I speak, or the pitch of my voice? And pitch is something else altogether?

WIP, I learned, means work-in-progress and refers to whatever an author is currently writing.  I think it also applies to all of us as we go about our lives.

As writers, we develop our WIPs, edit, tweak the storyline, and rewrite severak more times until we (and the editors) are satisfied. We develop our characters more fully, and fill in the details until the whole picture becomes clear and communicates what we want to tell our readers. God does the same with us as He writes the story of our lives.

God develops and transforms us to be more of what He has in mind as our story unfolds. He writes suspense. But with God, His characters (that’s you and me) are the ones who wonder what the next scene will be.  As do those who watch His story unfold in our lives. He’s written many stories over the millennia with plots that have many twists and turns, leaving us wondering what will happen next.

Only God knows what will happen in the future. I’m glad that’s the case. It piques my interest, even though I sometimes wish I knew some of the details ahead of time. But the Author knows how much His characters should know and reveals the details as He sees fit. He’s never written the same story twice.
If only I could do the same .

Thursday, August 9, 2012


When Faith and Life Collide

Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you.  Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future.

This is a promise many of us have heard.  We want to believe it’s true, so how do we handle it when our circumstances seem to prove otherwise? Is this evidence that the Bible isn’t true? I contend that’s not the case.  Perhaps we’ve overlooked a piece of the puzzle. Maybe there’s something we haven’t considered.

Nowhere does it tell us how God plans to do to prosper us, or what that looks like. Nor does it tell us when.  It does say He’ll give us hope for the future.   That’s where faith comes in. Faith that God will fulfill his promise to us. And perseverance until we see how God works it through.


When it comes to many things in my life, I recognize that it takes time to see the fruit(s) of my labor. Building up a retirement account, deepening relationships with friends and family, or growing a garden, doesn't happen overnight.  It takes time, perseverance and commitment on my part to see it through to the end. 

So, why do we expect God to answer our prayers right away?  Because He can?  Fair enough, but what if He takes His time so that we grow in the process?  That’s been a tough lesson for me to learn, and I find I have to re-learn it many times over.  But God has proven that He’s faithful and has my best interest in mind, even when I can’t see it. 

How about you? What have you seen God do in times of hardship that you could only recognize after time had passed? How do you handle it in the meantime?