It feels as if every single day God reminds me how much he loves me and that, if I trust in him, he will take care of me.
Yesterday, after the kids had left for school and while I was getting ready to start my day, I happened to glance at the C. S. Lewis compilation book that was sitting on my nightstand. Something in my heart (a voice which I have learned to recognize as God speaking to me) told me to pick that book up, and that I would need it that day. I brought it down to my desk thinking maybe I would use it to write yesterday’s blog post, but if you’ve read yesterday’s post, you’ll see that didn’t happen. I kept it on my desk and went about my day and errands. At about 2:00 I sat down to work on issue 17 of Rose, which if you haven’t read it, is my creator-owned comic through Image. I didn’t get very far before I knew exactly why I needed that CS Lewis book and when you read issue 17 (if you do) you’ll see the words, inspired by one of the greatest Christian writers of our time, about how every choice we make brings us closer to being either a heavenly creature or a hellish one. At that moment all I could say was “Thank you, Father.” He knew what I needed even before I did.
For me that is what having a relationship with God is all about. I have absolute faith and trust that he will give me what I need, when I need it. That doesn’t mean I don’t pray to him and ask him for things. There are plenty of verses in the bible that say that what you ask for in faith will be granted. But what I’m trying to get at here today is that once I ask for something I don’t keep worrying about it. Philipians 4:4-7 says the following:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
There were many times, early in my writing career, when I spent so many anxious hours and had so much stress, worrying about what is going to happen next, if I would ever write again. But I tell you, that it wasn’t until I truly lived that verse, that God started answering my prayers. My personal prayer in my writing is always that something I write speaks to someones heart, and that I am doing God’s will, and not my own. I have learned that I can’t control what is going to happen in my life. I can’t make an editor read and like my pitch. I can’t make people read and buy my book. I can’t control how people react to what I’m writing. I need to give all of that up to the one who really has control. And make no mistake, it is almost eerie how often God speaks directly to me, in a clear and understandable way, now that I have my heart open and ready to listen.
So I guess the message of today is my tagline…trust in God. He knows what you need even before you do and he will take care of you if you let him.
God bless,
Meredith
Just an addendum to this post: The verse from Philipians was in my bible reading today and this was the bible verse from John came up on my phone. See! God speaks. You just have to listen.
John 14:13-16
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth.”
And of course another song.
finchmeredith1 