By Nicholas Odhiambo
The Kingdom of God is a well organized and planned out unit. He is the source of all things and as such all things are pre-planned and set in place according to His divine will.
I believe in the same way, according to Joel 2:1-11, the writing arm of the Kingdom is as organized and disciplined as is described here.
“They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.”
Joel 2:7-8 KJV
The Kingdom of God is :
1)Well organized
2)Planned out Unit
3)Source of all things
4)Thus all things are preplanned and set in place!
Each writer has his part and assignment in the overall plan. You have your assigned lane. If you don’t run on it, it will remain as is. God’s voice is put on paper for the others to read and act on. His agenda is made clear through the writings we do.
This is a key and essential part of the life of the writer and I believe we will be all the more effective when we understand it.
Verse 11 of the same chapter in Joel says,
“And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?”
Joel 2:11 KJV
It speaks of Jesus taking the lead and showing the way how it is to be done. It is His message at the end of the day and as such He gets to speak through you as you write.
When you let it be about him (regardless of the topic, it flows and becomes effortless.
I believe that it will be more purposeful as you approach writing regardless of the angle you take, whether a business writer, motivational, farming and direct ministry from the word. He utters His voice before you, . . . He is strong that executes His word.
FURTHER EXPOSITION
NIV version Verse 7-8 …. They all March in line, not swerving from their course. They don’t jostle each other……
Each and every author has a very distinctive line and shouldn’t a) lose focus b) try to be anyone else.
Each writer has his/her part and assignment in the overall plan. You have your assigned lane. That’s why the writer of Hebrews says that we should run the race that is set before us, our lane. That’s your life’s purpose. Purpose and passion go hand in hand. When you are in your lane, you are in purpose, and you will be productive. But when you are not in your lane, you may run the race and even win but you will be disqualified. Every author must make sure they stick to their lanes. There is rest when you are in your lane. This ensures you’re writing from the heart of the Father.
When you stick to your lane, there is less traffic and no speed limit.
How do you manage the pressure for money, fame, popularity and praises of men especially when your lane is not bringing the above and it’s bringing them to the author in the neighbouring lane?
Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You,
John 17:1 NKJV. Therefore, He will Glorify an author however He pleases as the author continues to Glorify Him in the things He has called them to…”When the Hour comes” it will be so.
This is a reality every child of God has to address constantly. There are many offshoots and answers to this. My main angle is always the fact that He is a Father and always has an avenue for provision. Provided you are within God’s given giftings/talents, the providence of flow will always be there. You only struggle most when what you try to do is out of sync with your life’s purpose.
God also says we cannot serve both Him and mammon (money). He shows us here the need to have Him as our focus. This will allow the provision department of His organized Kingdom to kick in. He will never allow the righteous to be forsaken or their seed to beg for bread. I believe there are righteous, pure ways to monetize your craft and your writing that allows ministry and provision to also flow.
Our motivation should be to take the particular message we are given to all the audience(s) it was given for and to endeavor to complete the task e.g. when Paul wrote to the Corinthians he also wrote for them and then followed up to ensure the message was not misunderstood. He took into consideration the modes of communication of the time, the language and culture of the day, etc. He did that with other audiences he was sent to as well.
My thought is money is then just a consequence following the good execution of the first goal but it is not a measure of effectiveness. The Jews believe Money is evidence of value created.
Could we also say that not every time we face resistance is because we are out of God’s will considering that also persecution comes for the sake of the Word? May God enable us to discern which is which – struggle because we are out of His will or because we are right in His will.
Yes. This is true.
