Your Promised Land

 

Remember the story of the twelve spies sent out by Moses to scout out the Promised Land? (Numbers 13:17-33) The idea was to figure out the lay of the land and the strength of the opposition so to be familiar with it when God gave the command to “Go!” This was promised land. Promised by God Himself. Yet ten of the twelve returned quaking in their boots, certain this land could never be conquered. It was filled with giants!

When I taught this story to my elementary level students, we pooh-poohed their lack of faith and applauded Joshua and Caleb for holding on to God’s promise. We pictured ourselves as if we were the Two Heroes, determined to carry on and serve the Lord, to take Him at His Word.

But.

Have you ever found yourself in the same camp with the Timid Ten?

What has God promised in your life? In your writing?

In my life, God has promised several things to me. Some of those promises are now fulfilled, a marvelous part of my personal history. Some of them I’m still waiting on. For some I’ve been given directions as to when to move; others, I keep listening for instruction.

When God added to my passion to write, He promised support. He gave the command to follow that dream and promised He’d be there to help me learn and progress and publish. He didn’t promise multimillion-dollar bestsellers (He didn’t nix the idea either!). He didn’t even promise which book, if any, would be published.

He has kept His promise. I’ve had short stories published. I write a blog and contribute to other blogs on occasion. I’ve written articles for the local newspaper.

And yet. There are moments when I question the promise. I earn maybe two hundred dollars a year from writing. Should I be contributing to family finances—even though we have enough right now? I mutter, “I’m not a real author. Who am I fooling?” And Satan answers, “That’s right. You’re a fake. You can’t write books that people want to read.” And I freeze. Not with writer’s block. With fear. I join the ranks of the Timid Ten.

At that point, I must make a decision. Will I stay in that pit of doubt inviting God’s wrath, or will I face the giants, who appear so intimidating, and barrel through them? God already told me He has my back. I can barrel through without fear! Once Joshua and Caleb received the go-ahead from Jehovah, their army blew through Canaan like a series of tornadoes demolishing one city at a time.

We, too, can seek the Lord’s will, listen for His answer, and follow His directions to victory. Consider what giants might be intimidating you, whether it be a writing project or a life situation. Has God made any promises concerning that project? Has He promised to stand before you and behind you as you face difficult circumstances? Then stay constant in prayer. Move when He says to move. Wait when He says to wait. Write when He says to write. And rest when He says to rest.

Join the ranks of the Two Heroes and enter your promised land.

The Virus Vs. Our Vision, Vitality, and Victory

For the last eight months, we've been living in a war zone as we battle an invisible virus. We are filled with uncertainties, and no sure victory is in sight for the near future. We're weary. And with weariness come short tempers and defeatist attitudes. 

When the subject of our "_______________" times comes up, (you fill in the blank), every person who speaks of it to me, sighs or gets angry or confesses their depression. With the shutdown, writers confess they have more time than ever to write, but they suffer writer' s block or a lack creative energy.

I addressed a related topic last month, and today, I want us to move forward with a vision toward our future, with the vitality to progress toward our goals, and to win ultimate victory over the weariness that saps our strength.

How do we fight this war?

We start with prayer.

We know we need help, and where does our help come from? From the Lord. Ask Him to help you reach the finish line, to show you how to develop the ideas He's already given you, and ask what He envisions for your future work, rather than generating your own ideas. What does Jesus want you to write about? How does He want you to serve Him? He will give you the vision you need. 

We continue with prayer.

As I've prayed through the spring and summer, He has filled my head with so many story ideas, I'll need to live past the century mark to complete them. So now I'm working on the vitality portion of my prayers. I need the energy and drive to work efficiently, so I can get all these books written before I'm ninety! I need a sense of direction, a plan of action to get things done. 

We act on those prayers.

God answers our prayers for guidance and for vitality in our writing life with His plan, and we're obligated to follow it.  As we fight the malaise of "COVID Times," we feel weak and out of shape at the beginning, but like any other exercise, we'll get stronger as we work out. Besides, God is the Perfect Trainer. He'll strengthen us one step at a time. (And here's a side note for one possible step: our ACFW Indiana August 22 meeting!)

Like my writing sabbath last month, God sends us to places of refreshment--a book to study, an online conference, or a walk in the woods, and take the laptop along.

We finish with praise and thanksgiving! 

With the vision He gives, with the plan He creates, and with the vitality He provides, we can march a path to victory. We are soldiers for Christ. We've been given a mission to accomplish in His name. We live the words of Philippians 4:13 and  2 Timothy 1:7. No virus, no level of shutdowns, and no civil unrest can stop us from writing stories that offer Light to a hurting world.

Let the celebration of praise and thanksgiving begin!
 
 

Taking the Test Over and Over Again

I’ve been taking this course from Jesus titled “Dying to Self.” It’s one of those outcome-based classes (those of you with an education background will recognize the term). I can’t move on to the next lesson until I’ve passed the test. And I keep failing.

Death to self isn’t as gory as one might suppose. I’m not required to commit suicide or anything. How could I move on to the next lesson if that were the case?

For a long time I thought this dying-to-self thing required all kinds of sacrifices on my part. No indulgences, no activities that I liked--you know, legalism in the extreme. If I was having fun, I must not be dying to self.

No wonder I couldn’t pass the test. God didn’t want me to be a grim, walking, talking rules book. With some remedial work, He helped me figure things out.

Dying to self has almost nothing to do with self-discipline. It has everything to do with obedience.

When we think of obedience, we tend to think “don’t.” Don’t write on the walls with a crayon. Don’t stay out past curfew. Don’t drive over the speed limit. But obedience also involves “do.” Do visit a friend who needs a shoulder to cry on. Do clean the bathroom on a regular basis. Do eat all your vegetables.

As writers, our “don’t thoughts” might include: don’t waste writing time by going out to lunch with a friend or don’t follow rabbit trails on social media (clicking on one interesting item to another interesting item to another…).However, there are plenty of things we can do. Do spend time building your author platform via social media and blogging. Do attend conferences and other meetings where writers congregate. Do try your hand at writing short stories as well as books.

 credit to cambraza.blogspot.com

Obedience should be easy if I want to do what God directs me to do, but too often it doesn’t work out that way. He might lead me to enter a contest, but I won’t make time to prepare for it. Maybe He’ll nudge me to query a publisher about a new idea, but I’ll be too timid to follow through. Or something as mundane as drinking more water or taking ten minutes to stretch after every hour of sitting at that computer. Yeah, that one requires self-discipline, being aware of my body’s needs, but if I truly want to obey, He’ll give me the ability to do it.

A few years ago God gave me the directive, “Go play.” How hard could that be? Jesus was telling me to relax, have fun. Take the Holy Spirit with me and enjoy my surroundings, my family, my friends. But I had trouble obeying. I worried and fussed over the problems of those close to me. I wanted to stick around and tell Jesus how I thought He should fix them. Like I knew better than God?

It’s been an ongoing lesson. I know the right answers to “go play” in my head. I have even succeeded in several exercises, but when He puts me in a big test situation, I try to take control as the problem-solver. God wants me to leave my loved ones in His capable hands, and prove my trust by exploring new vistas with the Holy Spirit.

Those vistas have included joining the wonderful community of writers in ACFW and traveling to spend time with these new friends. We have so much in common! When I am able to fully obey His directive, I will have passed one more test in the coursework of dying to self.

Think about the tests God gives you. Have you been able to obey his orders? To die to yourself and live to please Him? To trust Him with your loved ones, your writing, your life?

I sure hope you’re a faster learner than I am!

Linda Sammaritan writes realistic fiction, mostly for kids ages ten to fourteen. She is currently working on a middle grade trilogy, World Without Sound, based on her own experiences growing up with a deaf sister.

Linda had always figured she’d teach middle-graders until school authorities presented her with a retirement wheelchair at the overripe age of eighty-five. However, God changed those plans when He gave her a growing passion for writing fiction. In May of 2016, she blew goodbye kisses to her students and dedicated her work hours to learning the craft.

A wife, mother of three, grandmother to seven, Linda regales the youngest grandchildren with “Nona Stories,” tales of her childhood. Maybe one day those stories will be in picture books!

Where Linda can be found on the web:

www.lindasammaritan.com

www.scriblerians.com

www.thescriblerians.wordpress.com

www.facebook.com/lindasammaritan

www.twitter.com/LindaSammaritan

When Obedience IS Sacrifice

The rich young man who refused to give away his wealth in exchange for eternal life in Matthew 19 seemed to be a nice guy. He followed the Law and was an all-around good person. We might have faulted him for being a little conceited since he started the conversation with misplaced confidence in himself, but nobody’s perfect, right?

What if the rich young man had followed Abraham’s example? God asked Abraham to give up his most precious possession. “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love… and sacrifice him as a burnt offering.” (Genesis 22:2)

By the end of the episode, we see the good accomplished. Abraham packed up what he needed except for the usual sacrificial animal. He traveled to the designated spot, built the altar, and laid Isaac on it. We don’t know what either person was thinking, but we can be sure of one thing. Both trusted God for the outcome. Either God would raise Isaac back to life, or God would give Abraham another son to fulfill the promise of a zillion descendants. Above all, Abraham knew if God asked something of him, it was worth doing.

God waited for Abraham to raise the knife, ready to slice into Isaac’s throat, before He called a halt to the sacrifice. He repeated His promises and added a few details. Abraham could rest in the knowledge that God would keep His word (Hebrews 11).

Back to the rich young man, one of those promised descendants. What if he had listed his assets, had advertised sales on every item he possessed, and had begun to unload his wealth? Maybe God would’ve halted the proceedings after a while. Or maybe He would’ve helped the man build another fortune once he had learned how to give. Would the rich young man have grown into a rich old man who enjoyed the challenge of making money followed by the delight in giving it away?

Hebrews 11 lists others who gave up everything to follow God. God challenges every generation of believers, asking every follower to hand over something or someone precious, if for no other reason than to see where our trust really lies.  A twentieth century missionary who inspired me was Lydia Prince. Her biography, Appointment in Jerusalem, leads up to her own “sacrificing Isaac” moment.

Sacrifices can be connected to our writing as well. We often speak of the daily sacrifices required in committing to writing toward publication. Those sacrifices are necessary, and we’re happy to do it. But has Jesus ever asked you to sacrifice the writing—or a particular story—and move on to something different? Perhaps a different project you weren’t thrilled about. Perhaps, setting down your pen and closing your laptop with no guarantees He’ll allow you to return to the passion of your life.

All you know is that He promises blessings for your obedience. His promised blessings are rarely instantaneous. Abraham never saw the promise of his descendants prospering as a nation while he lived on this earth. Yet he trusted God. His name is revered in the history of three major religions.

Lydia Prince did gain her heart’s desire once she gave away her greatest love. Like Abraham, she emerged from the test with more faith in her God than ever.

But the rich young man went away sad, no longer confident in his own “goodness.” I hope he changed his mind at some point, trusted Jesus’s words, and gave it all away.

As a writer, has God asked you to sacrifice a work so close to your heart that He’s testing to see if it’s an idol? If He has, would you be willing to respond here with a comment? Have you seen the blessings that came from such an obedient sacrifice?

Linda Sammaritan writes realistic fiction, mostly for kids ages ten to fourteen. She is currently working on a middle grade trilogy, World Without Sound, based on her own experiences growing up with a deaf sister.

Linda had always figured she’d teach middle-graders until school authorities presented her with a retirement wheelchair at the overripe age of eighty-five. However, God changed those plans when He gave her a growing passion for writing fiction. In May of 2016, she blew goodbye kisses to her students and dedicated her work hours to learning the craft. She still visits the school and teaches creative writing workshops.

Where Linda can be found on the web: 

www.lindasammaritan.com

www.scriblerians.com

www.thescriblerians.wordpress.com

www.puttingonthenew.com

www.facebook.com/lindasammaritan

www.twitter.com/LindaSammaritan