thesoarspot.com

Hello my friends. I am away for a couple days on a writing retreat to continue work on my next book. During my quiet time, I reflected on the past few months and years of my writing and speaking journey. In the course of 15 years, I have attended four writing conferences and two workshops on public speaking. When I have spoke, listeners have encouraged me with accolades like, “You are a natural speaker”, “God has given you a gift”, “You are called to speak and write.” In May of this year my writing won two awards at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. But what does this all mean?

The publishing and speaking journey is long, filled with rejection, and dry periods. In those times when I am offered a kind word or award, I purposely give it back to God and thank Him for those tidbits of encouragement that keep me writing and seeking out speaking opportunities. Would it be easy to get prideful? Yes. But would it be easier to quit? Yes. Ask anyone that is writing a book or trying to get a speaking ministry off the ground. There is a lot of work in the trenches before anything or anyone gets noticed.

In my quite time this morning I was taken to 1 Kings 18. In this account the people of Israel were wavering between worshipping Baal and God. The land was experiencing a drought and desperation had set in. Elijah challenged the people to build an altar to Baal and he would build one to God. Each party would call on their individual deity to rain down fire to light the altar and that would prove the existence of the true power. The people did as they were told, and cried out to Baal until midday with no fire. They continued to plead, beg and petition their god into the evening without even a spark. Elijah’s turn. He built the altar with twelve large stones, then asked the people to soak it with water not once, not twice, but three times until the trench around the bottom was full and overflowing with water. With the altar, the wood, and the sacrifice saturated, Elijah called out to the one true God and fire rained down and engulfed the altar. The fire was so hot it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and even the water in the trench. The people bowed down exclaiming, “Surely God is the true god!” Elijah went on and petitioned God for rain, and his persistence paid off. The drought was over.

What has God called you to do for him my friend? He has called me to write and to speak. He has inspired me to write a book that I believe will change lives, not because of me, but because of the God who has inspired and lit it within my soul. Don’t let a delay in God moving, be perceived as a denial. His timing is perfect in all things. Hang in there my friend. If you are in a drought, call out to the true God and wait for the fire to come… and it will come in His perfect time! What have you been called to do but have given up because of your drought? The rain is coming, pick that project back up and get ready for a move of God!

Genesis 21:2 “Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.”

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”