Write His Answer

During what’s often called “the lazy, hazy days of summer,” are you making time to seek God’s purpose for you and your writing? Or are you content to lay on the beach and let the clouds float by?

Please don’t misunderstand me. There’s nothing wrong with taking a vacation. I’d sure like one right now. But with the July 26-29 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference only two and a half weeks away, I’ve got more than enough work to fill 12-15 hour days. This isn’t a complaint. It just is what it is.

But whether you’re hard at work or getting a much needed vacation from work, are you aware of the growing darkness around you? Are you seeking Him for how the words He would have you write can make a difference?

In Against the Night, Living in the New Dark Ages published in 1991, Chuck Colson wrote:

“Dark Age” is a strong term. I recognize that. Yet  in recent  years I’ve had a growing sense of storm clouds gathering on the horizon . . . The forecast is foreboding . . . We scan the horizon with unease.

We sense that things are winding down, that somehow freedom, justice, and order are slipping away. Our great civilization may not yet lie in smoldering ruins, but the enemy is within the gates.

The times seem to smell of sunset. Encroaching darkness casts long shadows across every institution in our land. . . . We do face a crisis in Western culture, and it presents the greatest threat to civilization since the barbarians invaded Rome.

I’m reminded of what Michael Gantt asked in a keynote address in Colorado a number of years ago.

Do you believe, really believe,
that God can use you to make a difference?

While I believe the words we write can impact our culture, just as important is the one person who may be drawn to the Lord through the words we write. And what about the reader who is struggling with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness who we can encourage because we’ve been there?

“Say yes to God: live with purpose,” Kevin Wayne Johnson, GPCWC’s Saturday morning’s keynoter, says. “As God unfolds His purpose for your life, accept it, walk in it, and watch Him unveil the vision and provision that is just for you. Say yes to the assignment with joy.”

I’m praying that you’ll prayerfully consider saying yes to the opportunities the July 26-29 GPCWC offers to “encourage and equip you to write about a God who is real, who is reachable, and who changes lives.” It’s not too late to register, but after July 10th I can’t guarantee that meals and lodging will be available on campus. But God will make a way if He is calling you to come. Trust Him!