The following post appeared as a guest post on Patti Shene's The over 50 Writer on February 23, 2022.
Have you ever walked on a journey to a place where you believe God is sending you, but you have blinders on? That, in some ways, has been my journey as a writer and author.
Blinders are small squares of firm leather on a horse’s bridle to prevent the horse from seeing objects at its sides.
Horses have peripheral vision, which means they can end up running off course unless they are made to remain focused. This encourages the horse to take chances it might not normally take.
There is a story about a preacher who bet his horse could walk up the stairs in his home. The horse was led up the stairs with no problem. When the preacher tried to coax the horse down, the horse wouldn’t move. The preacher covered the horse’s head and led him down the stairs with no problem.
It sounds good, but if I wore blinders all the time in my relationship with God, I might miss all that He has for me.
Little did I know that God would call me three years ago to begin a journey as a writer and author. At times, I have called myself the “reluctant author.” I wore that badge and thought it was okay to say it out load or to other people.
I looked up the word reluctant. It means, in part, to be unenthusiastic, undisciplined, hesitant, unwilling, and opposed. God had called me on a path, and I was moving forward with a reluctant heart.
Ouch! It hurt. I realized I had to have some surgery by the Holy Spirit to go on this journey with God.
I wanted to be eager, ready, willing, anxious, resolute, unwavering, unquestioning, committed to the goals, confident, driven by a purpose, and fully committed to what God has called me to do. I wanted to have joy in my life while walking with God.
Carol Kent is an author who inspires other people to have faith and hope. I heard her recently say, “Embrace the Season you’re in.” This is a woman who, if you know her story, has walked some paths that she never saw coming in her lifetime. What has she done? Not only walk with God but encouraged others to do the same.
If you look at Hebrews 11: 7 (NLT)
It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before.
Think about Noah. He lived in a time of chaos and social decline, but Noah found favour with God. He was a farmer, shipbuilder, and a preacher. People thought he was crazy for building his ark, but he preached to people.
Culture does not have to define you. You can be the odd person out. Don’t look at the culture but look to God. It is better to be cancelled by the culture than to be cancelled by God. You want divine favour. Noah didn’t give in to the world’s pressures.
Rely upon the Holy Spirit. He will counterbalance the pressures coming at us from the outside world. When we rely upon the Holy Spirit, the counterbalance keeps us from crumbling under the weight all around us.
What is it that God has been calling you to do? Don’t do it as I have done, in part, as a reluctant participant.
Hebrews 10 23-25 (NLT) says:
Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
It doesn’t matter how young or old you are. Whatever your journey is, do it with joy trusting God.
Pass the baton of faith to those that you meet. Be involved in other people’s lives. Inspire one another.
Pastor and author Tony Evans says it this way. “That way, when someone’s “get up and go” has “gotten up and gone,” someone else will be there to encourage them forward.”
I pray this encourages you.
My journey has taken a path where I’m writing the first in a series of historical fiction books for young children. It will debut in the summer of 2022.
New Season!
I fell on Labor Day in 2019, have had six surgeries, had COVID last year, and as I’m writing this was diagnosed with shingles. Yes, it has been a long journey, but I’m spending days embracing the season I’m in with joy. I’m learning that there are shifts in my journey, and I’m embracing them.
Embrace your season and let me know how I can pray for you.