What’s your why?
That is a question I had to answer for myself when I became an author. Plus, I have revisited that question several times over the years. Early on I discovered some good Why answers.
- It is God’s plan for me.
- The simple joy of writing.
- The satisfaction of seeing my story in print.
- The desire to convey an idea or thought to others.
- The chance to make money.
- Fame.
It is true I list God’s plan first, which for me it is, but this is not a ranking system. All of these are good reasons. For me, the only one that truly matters is #1 – it is God’s plan for me. The important point I am trying to make is that you need to have a why, and it can be completely different that what I have listed.
A Breakout of My Statement
As explained above, it is God’s plan for me. But what does that mean?
It is God’s call upon my life. I am not sure if it happened when I got saved, or afterward. I think it was afterward. In any case, God gave me a verse to base it all upon; Psalm 71:18:
“Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.”
The call of God to write has led me through a lot of doors as I have sought His will. Most were of His will, some not so much. But since He called me, I felt that when a door opened, I should at least check it out. Like I said, some turned out to not be His will. Not because of anything ungodly, but in the end they didn’t work for me. And when I discover a door that I have gone through isn’t God’s will, I retreat and exit that door.
As time passed and I grew as a Christian that philosophical idea blossomed into what I call my Why. Here it is:
“Since God has called me to serve Him through authoring, and has enabled me to write, then I will obey Him in all aspects of His will.”
That is both a spiritual and a practical statement because it touches my writing career and my personal living. But it is something of a mouthful, so let me break it out for you.
God called me to write is my Why
This speaks of His calling me to write. As stated, I don’t know the date other than it followed my salvation. I had been trying to write beforehand and always failed, and that didn’t change immediately. What did change is that I immediately had a reason bigger than myself, and that became a driving force as I pursued writing as a career.
God enabled me to write is my Why
From the year of my salvation to the day God finally pointed me in the direction He wanted me to go, some 30 years passed. I was still writing and failing. In the meantime, I wrote some computer programs, and started writing poems. They occupied my mind, but only writing truly satisfied me.
But during that period of time God was preparing me. He began opening doors that led me to new (for me) tools, ideas, and concepts that now are a mainstay of my writing. He was enabling me!
More on the other side of this break.
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Now back to the article.
I Will Obey is the Why in Action
When God reaches down and enables us to do what He wants, then we are obligated to obey. Remember when I talked about doors opening. That is when I began to sense His call. It was clear to me yet, but the sense of His calling pushed me forward. The more I obeyed, the better I got.
Then God called me in 2000. I was now 63 years old, when most people are retiring. As I write this, I have only recently turned 80. That means that since I first heard God’s call it has been 17 years!
That call came in the form of my morning devotions. I was reading Genesis 6 about Noah and the Ark. Suddenly, the thought hit me. These are facts, but there is so much not told. It is like a skeleton that needs to be fleshed out. And in that moment I knew God wanted me to write about Him, His grace, and whatever else.
At that time, I only thought about fiction, so I wrote my first story. It took 3 years before it got published. But once started, I didn’t stop. Then I became involved in nonfiction, which scared me. But when I started writing my first nonfiction book, What’s True About Christmas? I knew that nonfiction was where I belonged.
I will still write novels, but writing doctrinal books that take complex theology and trims it down to where simple people can read simple doctrines written by a simple person (me), truly makes me happy. I am now excited by the future.
At the age of 80, I don’t know if He is going to give me another 40 years as He did Moses, or just increase my productivity, but I do know or at least see through the mirror a little clearer, that writing about Him, His Word, and His people is His plan for me.
Did God call you to write? If so, then you can contact me at info@trbookservices.com
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Company information:
T&R Independent Bookstore is a division of T&R Independent Books founded in 2014 by R. Frederick and Tess Riddle. TR Ministry, aka Ministry Services, is both a charge and an exciting outreach to the Christian Community.
