Wherever the wind blows…
Kingdom writing is not always straightforward. There are things we too often wish to write because it is from our own desires. Yet when we write for the Kingdom it is just like the moment when Jesus is talking to Nicodemus about being born again. Nicodemus is full and overspilling with knowledge of the Law and yet he comes to Jesus by night because he sees there is something different about Him.
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
John 3:8 NIV.
Kingdom writing must be born of the Spirit. We must surrender all of our knowledge, our ways, our understanding to Jesus and let ourselves be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Trying to write in my own strength I get easily lost on the way. I take paths that I did not need to and most importantly find myself falling into discouragement. This is because writing was not meant to be this way – it is not a solitary journey, it is one where we are led by the Holy Spirit.
I have seen many teachings, books and courses about Christian writing and many outline the practical aspects of writing which we all need, but I have yet to come across anything that emphasizes the importance of walking with the Holy Spirit on the journey of writing.
There have been some moments in my writing where I have not been able to write about something until I have first experienced it in real life. That is the Holy Spirit. Perhaps there is something that I have been avoiding, something that needs healing, or something that I never saw before and the Holy Spirit brings it before us gently but firmly.
The first novel I wrote took me about seven months to finish and almost flew onto the page. It was something that had long been sitting in my soul stirring for over eight years but it was not until a quiet day in June 2019 that God opened before me a story. It was as though it fell into my hands and I quickly scribbled it on paper.
As I opened my laptop to write the words that began to flow out of me that had come from a place of deep wrestling and healing, I was not aware of what I was doing, I just listened and wrote what I heard. It was a mystery to me. It was as though I was seeing things that I never knew before, going places I have never visited without even leaving my seat. My soul went on a journey and I was not the same afterwards.
It was not until this year when I began to write a second novel that words started to form around what was happening. It was not until I was on the brink of giving up this mysterious and unmarked path that I had found myself on that in a moment of surrendering it all, God began to lead me in new ways, in the ways of His Kingdom.
I am now beginning to open myself up further and further to being led by the Holy Spirit when I write. The more you surrender, the more He shows you the right path to walk in and oh will He fling wide open those Heavenly gates!
It still sometimes feels like a great mystery to me, that is beyond my knowledge, beyond my understanding, beyond even my words. Yet I will go wherever the wind blows…