Doing It God's Way

I love writing. I can’t imagine what I’d do without writing in my life. It’s a release, a way to express myself, explore human nature, deal with stress, share joy...the list goes on and on. But I couldn’t write without God’s help. How do I know this? Easy. I’ve tried it and failed epically. Another thing I’ve learned time and again is that it doesn’t work to argue with God. I lose every time and realize that God’s way is better than mine.

A few years ago, I was writing a story and knew I wanted to use a specific Bible verse. I’d already used it in an earlier scene, one in a church service, and I knew I had to use it for this second church service scene. Unfortunately, I got so busy thinking about what I wanted to do with the story that I forgot to ask what God wanted me to do with it.

I went to work on this second church scene, writing bits and pieces of a sermon that would hit the character hard, and got stuck. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to tie that important verse into the scene. I spent hours working on that scene to no avail. Everything I thought of wouldn’t work for one reason or another. Through it all, I felt a tugging on my heart to quit focusing on that verse and focus on the message, but I got so hung up on wanting to fit that verse into the scene that I fought against the tug.

Finally, I got so frustrated that I was ready to throw my pen across the room. I looked up at the ceiling and prayed, “Fine. I’ll do it Your way.”

When I looked down at the paper filled with my handwriting and scribbled out sentences, I knew exactly what to write next. I quit trying to write the scene my way and just let the words flow from my pen. The sermon in the scene went in a different direction than I’d planned, but it fit the story perfectly. Even though I’d been stubborn and argued to write the scene my way so I could include that verse, God had other plans that turned out better than what I’d been struggling to write. The best part? Once I quit fighting His way, I was able to incorporate the verse I’d so desperately wanted to include in the scene.

The moral of the story? Arguing with God is futile, and if what you want is in His plan, He’ll give you a way to do it.