Here’s something fairly ironic: I’m at a writer’s retreat, but didn’t manage to write my post last evening. I guess that’s what happens when you talk about writing rather than, well, write. But the retreat was everything I needed for a soul refresher to create content that glorifies God. And I did get some writing in as I prepared for a morning devotional time I led for this group.

As I was talking to the other writers, the theme of inadequacy popped up more often than those little creatures in a whack-a-mole game. But I had the opportunity to process this pervasive sense of “not enoughness” during the short devotional that I shared today. Here’s the draft of my notes that I pray will deepen your faith and encourage you too.

 

When Creating is Difficult

I highly doubt that any of us are—or will ever be— at a point in our creative journeys where we can say, “Writing is super easy for me. It doesn’t take anything out of me. It doesn’t feel like I’m being vulnerable. It doesn’t feel like I’m taking a crazy huge risk every time I put my work out there.”

Without a doubt, writing anything of value is an act of vulnerability.

As we’ve shared in several of our sessions, this act of writing is filled with self-doubt and fear. “Am I even qualified to write this? Hasn’t someone else said it in a way that’s better, funnier, wiser, more impactful?” What if no one reads it? What if I can’t create another article like the one I wrote five years ago?”

Those are valid questions and I’m not dismissing them. But here’s something for us to consider: What if writing is not just an expression of our creativity but an act of obedience?

Let’s spend a few minutes reflecting on a familiar passage: the Feeding of the Five Thousand, from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 6, verse 35 onward.

 By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late.  Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

 

The disciples observe the problems that need to be addressed: It’s a remote place. It’s late. The people are hungry. There’s no food.

As writers and creatives, it’s important to notice and to be sensitive to the needs around us. What are people hungry for? What are their hearts’ desires? What are their greatest fears? When we explore the areas of need around us, we find that the need is great.

But then comes the cost. The cost is high.

The disciples evaluate the cost—Half a year’s wages. What, Jesus? You want us to risk that?

And Jesus pretty much says, “Yup. You give them something to eat.”

Can you imagine the disciples looking at each other and thinking, “Rabbi, did you even hear us? Do you compute the cost here? Do you see how difficult this is going to be?”

Maybe we do the same as writers. We look at Jesus and go: “Do you understand how stupid I’ll feel if this piece of writing gets rejected? Do you know how little I have to offer you? Do you see how inadequate I am for this task? I’m going to risk my reputation and it could be disastrous.”

But here’s the thing: The need is great. The cost is high. But the calling is even higher

The calling to create. The calling to feed those who are hungry.

Let’s go back to Mark 6. It says in verse 39:

 Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people.

Jesus could have asked the people to stand in line and He could have handed out the bread and fish Himself. Alternatively, if He didn’t care for the long wait, He could have left the baskets at spots around the place and asked the people to pick up their picnic lunch.

But He involves the disciples in the feeding. And He invites and involves us in the work of creating for the Kingdom. He doesn’t need us. But in His infinite grace, He still calls us to serve so we can fulfill our purpose of glorifying Him.

Creativity is one of God’s communicable qualities that we have received as a gift. But we’re not designed to create independently like God did when He formed the earth from nothingness. We share God’s attribute of creativity. But unlike God, we don’t create from nothing. We create from a place of dependence on Him.

The disciples first received the fish and bread from Jesus and then passed the food on to the hungry. That is a model for us.

Maybe creating is meant to be difficult because it reminds us that we need to dwell in God’s presence and depend on Him before we can deliver. 

Scripture points out that apart from God, we can do nothing (John 15:5). That reminder holds true for all of life, even for the craft of writing.

The need is great. The cost is high.

But the calling is even higher. And that calling can only be carried out in dependence on God.

So really this is a message to me too. When creating is difficult, the answer is to depend on the Lord by dwelling in His presence.

But by dwelling in the presence of God, by abiding– not just visiting–we can create something of eternal value. If you think you’re not enough or don’t have enough to give, here’s where my favorite teaching for Christian writers comes in: The strength of Christ is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9). That’s true for all of life and holds true for our craft as well.

Creating is difficult. But what a relief that we don’t have to depend on ourselves but we get to dwell in His presence and depend on Him before we deliver in our calling as writers,

 

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