Fear Has No Authority in Your Calling to Write

Fear Has No Authority in Your Calling to Write, by Brenda Bradford Ottinger

Do you ever feel like your call to write may as well be a call to fly to the moon? Dreams, by nature, are intimidating and bend the boundaries of bravery; otherwise, we’d be meeting them every morning before breakfast. Friend, if you’re feeling vulnerable and afraid as you pursue your writing dreams, take heart — you are normal! 

Let’s chat about some fear-fighting steps to remember as we run in our callings to write:     

• Don’t discount God’s investment in your dream. Set your goals before the Lord and ask Him to align your spirit with His dreams for your writing.  Guard your limits. Stay in the lane God lights for you and trust Him for the outcome. It’s easy to see things other writers do and fear we’ll be left behind if we don’t do them as well. Give that fear to God and walk confidently in the peace of His path for you.     
• Remember, God’s timing is rarely our timing — and we don’t want it to be. (Although, our patience may disagree.) God uses waiting seasons to grow His message as we cultivate our writing craft. Meanwhile, He moves ahead, preparing hearts for impact more beautiful than anything our timetables could produce.    
• Serve the ones He’s placed along your path today. Dreams cast vision, and sometimes that vision can take the focus off the souls in front of us. The bigger dream He’s placed in your heart is paved with smaller steps of service along the way. But the smaller influence of today is of no less value than the bigger influence of tomorrow.   
• Keep writing even when it feels messy and hard. The good stuff usually comes after we’ve wrestled through the messy middle. Connecting the message on your heart to the words on the page can be difficult, and it’s tempting to brush these drafts aside when the deep thought and research involved feel daunting. But friend, this is the work of a writer. Don’t fear you’re not enough for the challenge; fight for the projects that sit heavy on your heart and offer them back to the Lord for His service.   
• Make peace with rejection. Rejection is a normal part of the process, and no writer is exempt from its sting. Those words you painstakingly poured out? They aren’t overlooked or rejected by God; He meant them for purpose, and they will bear fruit in season. 
• Connect with other writers who “get it.” On painful days and gainful days, it’s comforting to bond with others who understand the unique beauties and challenges of the writing life.   

Your writing dreams need not be bound by fear. Galatians 5:1 tells us Christ has set us free for — wait for it — freedom! Fear has no authority in your calling to write, so freely run, arms open wide, into your writing dream. You’ve got this, friend. 

What fears are standing between you and your writing goals today?