Dear Writer, I hope you had a beautiful week and found ways to stay focused on your call as a gatekeeper of God’s glory! This week, we’re going to explore another gatekeeping key—staying true to that call.
You see, when God created you, He gave you a unique voice that will touch specific hearts and lives in a way no one else can. One of the biggest temptations you may face in pursuing God’s call to write is the pressure to conform your uniqueness to certain industry standards. Sadly, this is often the case in large Christian publishing circles as much as it is in the mainstream book industry. But here’s the thing…
There is a difference between excellence and conformity. There is a difference between developing your uniqueness into its full expression and misshaping your story to attain a modicum of “marketability.”
Staying True in History
Joan of Arc is an excellent example of staying true to one’s call. When Joan received God’s call to rally the dispirited French military to stand against their oppressors, both her message and her manner were questioned by the church and by French royalty. But as Joan stayed true to her God-given call, He proved her words true and used her faithfulness to begin a work of restoration in the nation of France. Through her steady message, God revived the French church and nation.
You see, writer, sometimes God wants to do a new thing through us. When He does, we need to trust that He will also confirm that word and give us the strength to weather the initial inertia, friction, or opposition we may face.
Staying True in the Bible
David’s battle with Goliath is another excellent example of honoring one’s unique design. When Saul tried to outfit David with his royal armor, David quickly realized Saul’s weapons would hinder instead of help him in the fight. Far from feeling insecure at this realization, David trusted the unique gifting, skills, and preparation God had given him. As a result, God gained great and lasting glory through David’s victory.
You see, writer, as you grow in your role as a gatekeeper, it’s good to explore and try things out, but also to recognize when certain methods just don’t fit you or the story God’s given you.
Staying True in Life
There were several times growing up as a teen, when the enemy tried to smear my name and reputation with an air of scandal. Both of those times, I learned of the fact from a friend, one of whom warned me that I should address the “rumor mill.” Instead, I said bluntly “If others are running around gossiping about me that’s not my problem. It’s theirs. They could come ask me the same questions you did if they want to know the truth.”
In both cases, the rumors died out because I remained true to act from who I was—an innocent with nothing to explain and nothing to prove.
Staying True in Your Life
You see, writer, sometimes staying true to God’s unique voice and gift is about learning to identify what is and what is not actually important. The writing industry can be as faddish as any other vocation and what some insist upon as hard and fast rules in this decade may have little to do with the actual quality or skill in storytelling.
This is why it’s important to know what the Lord intends to accomplish through your message and to learn how to discern and correctly leverage the inputs we receive as we navigate the writing, editing, and publishing process. Let me show you…
-
- Therefore thus says the Lord: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth… – Jeremiah 15:19a
- Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. – Romans 12:2
- But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. – Hebrews 5:14
- And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. – 2 Corinthians 3:18
You see, writer, in order to display His glory to the waiting world we must stay true to the unique gift He’s given us, even as we work to mature that gift. And to do this, He must remain our primary source.
Where to Start with Staying True
Wondering what God’s unique gift is to you and how well that glory is shining through? Here are a few points to help you along…
-
- Assess. Before you can stay true to God’s unique voice, message, and gift in your life, you have to know what it is. Taking time to prayerfully assess your call and gifting from God and the aspects that make you and your voice distinctive and unique is a critical first step. Often we can find clues to those unique talents in our personal life story. Sometimes, friends can also help us identify our unique passions and modes of expression.
- Observe. Begin to make note of the way you speak, write, converse, and interact with others. Notice what flavor, communication style, values, and passion seem to seep into and permeate conversations over and over again.
- Pray. As embark on our journey as a gatekeeper, often our understanding of who we are grows. Wherever you currently are in your journey, I encourage you to write down your call to write as clearly as you understand it and begin to regularly pray into that call. Seek God’s wisdom and help and spend time prayerfully dreaming with Him. This is one of the most powerful ways to grow your voice and vision in any area of life.
- Discern. Once you’ve begun to identify and grow your unique voice as a writer, it’s important to learn how to navigate the feedback you’ll receive. Some feedback you get will be spot on. Some will be purely preferential or faddish. One of the ways to tell the difference is by recognizing whether a certain comment is addressing and issue of clarity or an issue of style. Clarity issues should always be fixed. After all, a story is only as impactful as it is understandable. But style issues—having to do with preference, genre, or certain conventions—can usually be set aside. Sometimes, you will get excellent feedback but will need to contextualize its application to strengthen instead of weaken your story and voice.
Staying true to your God-given voice is really about acting as a steward over your story. It’s about learning to act as gatekeeper over your heart and God’s gift within it. Because here’s the thing…
Proverbs says, “Guard your heart for out of it flow the issues of life.” What you allow to go down deep inside will come out again. And, just like food, what we choose to take in can make our God-given voice and story stronger and clearer—until they’re everything He means them to be—or it can make them weaker. If we take the time and effort to discern the inputs we receive and use them to strengthen our unique voice, our message will gain a clarity that can carry it farther than we ever expected, whether that’s to the center of a nation or of a single human heart.
So, I encourage you today, as you move forward in your writing journey, to do so with confidence and discernment, leaning on the Lord to correctly assess and assign all you encounter and to align with His unique plans and purposes for you and your story. And here’s the final thought…
Just like Joan and David and I were able to change trajectory of lives and nations, as you learn how to amplify God’s unique glory through your life, His power will be free to impact the lives it’s meant to touch, too.
#glory #gatekeeper #staytrue #EveryWriterWriting
