“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
We are generally pretty good at deciding what we want. Our selfish nature tends to run ahead of the Lord, and we devise all sorts of reasons why our choice is best. The trouble is our plans may not line up with God’s plans. I don’t always make the right decisions or choices.
The writing life sometimes hits dead ends–I mean like running headlong into a brick wall kind of dead end. Sometimes God tries to steer my focus in a another direction, but I’m doggedly charging down this road because this is my plan. Other times, I stumble around in the dark, not knowing where I am in this writing journey. Locating the light switch means sitting down, being quiet, and opening God’s word. If I need to hear from God, checking my inbox or Facebook isn’t the most effective way to do it. There is only one way to communicate with God, and that is through reading His instruction manual and prayer.
If you work in an office or some other place of employment, chances are you have regular staff meetings in which your boss tells his workers what he expects. If you don’t follow his instructions, a private one-on-one meeting usually follows. If I say I am writing for God, but don’t heed His direction, I can count on a one-on-one meeting taking place.
BUT . . . if I REQUEST that one-on-one meeting–if I open His word and ask Him to speak to me through His word, He will guide my fingers on the keyboard with more clarity than Googlemaps. When I turn off the distractions, be still and quiet my heart before God, He will direct my steps, or in this case my fingers. If my writing does not honor Him, I might as well quit.