All I Want To Do Is Hold The Pen

“I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man abides in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 16:5)

I took a course called “Experiencing God” a couple of years ago. It was an eye opener. For the first time in my Christian life (which is comparatively short), it planted the notion with me that God has more planned for all of us than we may think. We just don’t give Him the chance to work through us.

I never forgot that study series. It brought me down to earth. You see when I became a Christian, I expected God to do great things through me. How could He? I wouldn’t even move over and let Him have the glory.

Well, God has not left me alone. I have had no sense of peace about what I have been doing with my faith. Yes, I teach Sunday School, study the Bible and even read a good bit in an effort to better understand my relationship with Christ. I try to apply Christian principles in everyday life. But, somehow, that voice inside has been telling me that I am not where I need to be. I mean I rarely talk to anyone about my faith beyond my own church family. In fact, it occurred to me that I’ve become the stereotypical Sunday Christian. I’ve been ashamed to put my faith in front of me and allow anyone to see it on any day but Sunday.

This Thanksgiving, I told my wife that God had really convicted me to get off my hindquarters and go to work for Him. The only thing was it took me two years to figure out how I could serve Him with the skills I have. I finally came to the conclusion that my love to write and my desire to help others change the direction their lives are taking were ways that I could really put my faith to work.

I must admit that in the course of a lot of thought and prayer, I had to move over and let God take control. You see, I’m the last person in Griffin who would want to get my name in newspaper on Saturday, or for that matter on any other day. My 21 years in city and county government have helped me to grow quite weary over getting my name in the paper. While I love my work, I don’t enjoy the circumstances in which I find myself. It’s not the high dreams and excitement that one may think.

What a perfect place for God to show up. He knows that I would rather do just about anything. In fact, I even thought about writing short stories or maybe free-lance articles on contemporary problems in an effort to avoid the idea of a weekly newspaper column. But He helped me to realize that even though I had a little to say about everything, I really didn’t have a whole lot to say about anything. So, this column is about the only place in the ministry of message that God’s will and my skills seem to work, at least for now.

It is my hope and prayer that you’ll see and learn more about how God can work in your life, and how your life can work for God. All I want to do is hold the pen!