Why We Should Listen
In July, I wrote about how fear keeps us from writing. To illustrate my point, I shared how in 2006 I prayed for more time to write. I told you how God promptly answered my prayer, as I was laid off the next day and given nine months’ severance pay. Rather than trusting God and writing fiction, all I wrote was resumes. I closed that article by declaring that I was going to start following God’s call to write, and encouraged others to write the stories God has put on their hearts.
Two weeks after I wrote that post, having not written a single word, I got laid off again. Apparently God is still answering the prayer I prayed five years ago. Of course, all I wrote for the following few weeks was – you guessed it – resumes. I’m not exactly good at listening to God, or to following his advice.
My job hunt went on for a few weeks. I’d spend my days searching all the job sites, sending out resumes, and following up leads. (I also picked up a nasty Sudoku habit that I can’t shake.) But I didn’t write. Finally, the lovely Mrs. Scott suggested that I hang out at Starbucks, get away from the job hunt, get some perspective. I must have been driving my poor wife nuts, because she even suggested I take her iPad with me to accessorize my latte.
While I was out, my wife called. “I’ve been praying about your job situation, and I think that until you start listening to God and start writing, he’s not going to bless you with a job.”
That’s pretty clear message. Which, of course, I promptly blew off. Instead, I answered a text from an old friend who was asking how my job search was going. When I informed her that I wasn’t making progress and was seeing doors close that had seemed open, she responded with the following. “God is trying to tell you that you have to write every day, and He’s not letting you get a job until you start a daily writing routine.”
In ten minutes I got the same message from both my wife and my dear friend. My friend isn’t a Christian, and in the five years I’ve known her, she’s never once said anything remotely like this. I decided that maybe I should go home and write before God decided to escalate from phone calls and texts to lightning bolts.
I went home and spent the next several hours working on a short story idea I’d gotten in Starbucks. I struggled at first, but then the words began to flow, the story started coming to life in my mind. It was so energizing!
Two hours later, my cell phone rang with a job offer.
God doesn’t just call us; He blesses our obedience when we follow through.
Whatever it is that you feel God is calling you to – whether it’s to write or something much less maddening – I encourage you to listen to Him. He’ll answer your prayers. Sometimes the answer might be “No,” and the answer will be in His timing rather than ours – much in the same way that hiring managers never have the same sense of urgency as the guy without a job.
I got my verbal job offer a week ago, but I’m still waiting for the official paperwork. It’s been held up a week for no apparent reason. The delay couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that I haven’t worked on my short story in a week, could it?
