Write His Answer

This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from
and forget about in a couple of hours.
This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish
against the Devil and all his angels.
Be prepared. You’re up against far more
than you can handle on your own.
Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued,
so that when it’s all over but the shouting
you’ll still be on your feet.” (Eph. 6:12-13 MSG)

Fight any spiritual battles lately? Or perhaps you’re in the midst of a battle right now. I know I am!

I just received the hard copy proof for the Colorado brochure. The workshop grid that is spread over two pages on the fold and had to be split is finally lined up correctly. But unbelievably the printer again has the bottom of the mailer upside down on the open end. I have explained again and again how the bottom needs to be on the fold for the Post Office. (One year I missed spotting this on the hard copy proof and the brochure was printed with the open end on the bottom. My mailing service convinced the post office to mail the brochures but it cost 20 or 25 cents more for each one! You can imagine how sick this made me since I mail about 5,000 brochures.) The printer does mailings and should know this without being told. And the file I submitted was set up correctly.

Father, please help me to give You my frustration. Help me to rejoice in the midst of this opposition knowing that the conference is obviously a threat to the evil one and that You have already won the victory. Help me not to stress over the delay of getting the brochure into the hands of the people You are calling to come. Thank You for the 17 online registrations I’ve already received and the faculty You have provided. I KNOW Your hand is on CCWC. Indeed, it is Your conference – not mine. And thank You that I finally found the missing 55 emails in the “To Do 2016 CCWC” Outlook folder. (I kept praying this prayer during a 40 minute phone call with the printer.)

There is no explanation for the missing emails. As I moved an email from my inbox into the “To Do 2016 CCWC” folder so it wouldn’t be buried in my inbox and not answered, the entire To Do folder emptied. The missing emails were not in my deleted folder. I searched for about two hours because these were important emails that needed to be answered. (Yes, I have a HUGE number of folders and emails in Outlook). I finally found them at the very bottom of the list of folders (where I had already searched two other times) in a second folder with the same name as the empty folder.

This kind of opposition so early in conference season is unnerving. And in six to eight weeks I’ll be going through the same process for the August 3-6 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference.

Father I know You will use these battles to strengthen my faith muscles. Please help me put on the armor You provide and stand in Your strength.

Time to re-read “Put on the Armor” from Write His Answer – A Bible Study for Christian Writers. 

Click here for a link to this chapter.