Last week I shared a verse from the Bible that has great meaning to my life and to my writing. This week I want to add one more verse that has impacted me as well.
Proverbs 14:23 says in the NIV, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” I can’t tell you how hard this hit me when I first read it in light of my writing. As I wrote it down to post by my computer, I wrote across the bottom of the card, “Stop procrastinating and WRITE!” All day long I can say am a writer but until I do it, my words are empty and meaningless. God takes them and creates purpose according to His will when I get out of the way and allow Him room to work through those words. However, I must do my part first before He will have something to work with!
Not only does the verse have application for my writing; in my daily walk through life, it rings true as well. This nation was founded on such a principle, in fact. One of the vital components of the Mayflower Compact was that everyone who wanted to eat must work. You can’t order the corn to grow and turn around to find steaming hot corn on the cob sitting on your table. Likewise, my husband (who is a homebuilder) can’t organize the blueprints and subcontractors for a house and sit back and watch it happen. He must work at it and keep others doing so before a finished product—and therefore profit for our business—can happen.
Many today unfortunately suffer from serious financial poverty, but far more are afflicted with emotional, mental, and/or spiritual poverty. They are equally devastating, just not quite as noticeable to a casual observer’s eye. How have you been the victim of these in the past? Or perhaps one of them holds you in its bondage right now. Emerging from it is no easier than from financial poverty but the good news is, it can be done with God’s help. This verse is a good starting point. You were created for purpose and for enjoying the work your Heavenly Father designed for you. So get to it!
We all suffer from some form of poverty from time to time and the key to defeating its hold on us lies in these simple words from Proverbs. Whether it is for our writing or for our personal lives, we must work hard to achieve our dreams. Living in obedience to His principles helps us focus on the essential and keep things in perspective as we await His blessings. It’s not a matter of luck but of confidence in God’s promises, not of talking about it but doing it.
What will you do this week to identify your areas of poverty and design a game plan to change destructive patterns and unleash God’s blessings? And no more excuses, get to work on your writing now!
Laura, I think writers can fall into the procrastination trap more easily than others because it can be so darn hard to get started sometimes. Starting a new project/piece, etc. is one of the hardest parts of writing for me. Once I get going, I'm okay. Let's write on, friend! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Cheryl. You are so right! Most of the time I'm the same way, just have to make myself sit down and DO it, then I'm fine. But I think we also fall into that trap because it is so easy to become distracted in our work. Getting bogged down usually means we need a break. Not for a week, however, only for a few minutes! Hope you get lots of writing done this week!
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