A Word in Due Season

By Andrea Merrell

Do you ever feel as if all your hours at the computer are in vain? Do you wonder if the words poured out of your heart will ever reach a single soul? Do you think your time will never come?

If your answer is yes, then welcome to the scary, frustrating, wonderful world of writing and publishing. Trust me, we’ve all been there/done that. Most of us have more t-shirts than we care to admit.

I once heard one writer say, “I don’t know if anyone is reading my blog. No one ever leaves a comment. I feel like my words are just out there floating in cyber space.”

Another writer told me she was discouraged because she submitted a devotion that was accepted but would not be published for over a year. “I felt like it was for right now,” she said.

Other writers I know are waiting to hear back from agents and publishers, wondering if their projects will ever get off the hard, cold ground.

The Bible says, “to everything there is a season.” For us as writers, it’s difficult to wait for our season, but we have to trust that it will come. God has a plan and purpose for everything He calls and equips us to do. And the words He gives us never go to waste.

Have you ever read through your journal or a story you wrote and thought, Wow, did I really write that? Maybe those words were given to you long ago to bless you sometime in the future. Or maybe a blog post or article long forgotten found its way into someone’s hand and they reached out to you to let you know how touched they were by your story. That’s what the Bible calls “a word in due season.”

There’s no greater blessing for a writer—at least for this one—than for someone to say how much they needed to read your devotion, blog post, article, or even Facebook or Twitter post. Maybe it was written years ago, maybe last week, but it made a mark in someone’s heart today. And maybe the words you write today will make their mark years down the road.

Words are powerful. They are also eternal. They can bless, and they can curse. That puts a big responsibility on us as Christian writers. The best part is knowing God’s Word is alive. When we share His Word with others, it speaks to their own personal need and situation—no matter when, where, or how. 

Proverbs 25:11 says “a word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver” (NKJV). The NLT puts it this way: "Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket."  

Never hesitate to share the words God gives you. They will always produce in due season.

(Photos courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net, Serge Bertasius Photography, and SurasakiStock.)

TWEETABLE

Never hesitate to share the words God gives you. They will always produce in due season. via @AndreaMerrell (Click to tweet.)