Finding Your “Get Up and Go” When It Has Gotten Up and Gone

Climbing out of bed, I snuck quietly to “the spot.” It is my favorite place to write — a cushy recliner with a soft blanket to keep me warm. Hoping no one would wake up and interrupt these precious moments, I grabbed my cup of coffee and dove right in. This pattern of rising early became an act of worship for me as I considered the things of God and got to write about them. 

Do you have a favorite writing spot, friend? A sanctuary you have created where you contemplate the thoughts of God and write how His Word connects with your story?

Depending on where you are in your writing journey, your “spot” might be alive and vibrant as your fingers cannot type fast enough, or it might feel dim and dull as you don’t know what words to write or if you have the heart to write them. While there might have been a time when you rose early because you could not wait to write, now you feel tired and worn. I’ve been there.

“I don’t see the point of writing. No one reads what I write anyway.”

You’ve likely thought this at some point in your writing journey. Though I mouthed these words at one point, my heart did not want to stop. I knew God had a purpose in the words He stirred up in my soul. 

If we listen to the inner critic running through our minds, we might see why our “get up and go” has gotten up and gone. 

I don’t see the point of writing — no one reads what I write anyway.

We can find joy in writing again if we tap into our original “why.” But first we will need to debunk our false motivations.

Our motivation cannot be results-oriented. 

Hopefully we did not begin writing because we thought we would have scores of readers. We began writing because we loved to write and sensed God’s pleasure in it. When we don’t see the point, it is because we have begun to focus on the wrong thing. We’ve shifted from serving others to expecting others to minister to us by liking what we have to say.

Our motivation cannot be about us.

Writing for results puts the focus on us, not God. When we can let go of the results, we start to feel joy rising in our souls again. God takes our work and brings the increase He determines.

Our motivation cannot be external — it must be internal.

Whether anyone ever reads what we write, is it worth it? You bet it is. Numbers do not prove our worth. Christ already did that. Obedience and faithfulness reveal something so much deeper than mere success in the world’s eyes. Motivation that comes from a place of worship, rather than performance or acceptance, revives our calling and defuses the pressure to have our words go further than God would have them go.

Time spent writing is precious to me now. It is crammed into pockets of time that I can intentionally seek out. My well-worn spot invites me to come and rest. When we seek to write from a place of rest rather than a place of wrest, striving ceases, and we just might see our words go further than we ever imagined.

All for Jesus,

Denise

Friend, are negative thoughts trying to steal your “get up and go”? Comment below if you are ready to defuse them with the right motivation!