Why Do I Write This Blog?

My wife and I are due for some refreshment, relaxation and reflection this week, so I thought it would be an appropriate time to ask myself why I write and why I write this blog in particular.

Why do I write?

• Basically I write because I just have to, there's a compulsion to do so.
• I write for me, because it has a healing quality.
• I keep a prayer journal between myself and God.
  
• The creative instinct within me is being unlocked, so even though I have had little teaching, I am learning to paint a picture in words or oil paint or photography.
• When I was a boy I was very shy and had difficulty expressing myself. It's was only in later years, after I became a Christian - especially when I began to get in touch with my inner feelings - that I began to find a new freedom to express what was on my heart, not just my head. I have a need to express.
• I want to learn and improve my communication skills. I admire those - like the authors of some of the blogs I read - who have the ability to explain themselves so readily and easily.
  

Why do I write this blog?

• I have discovered that being a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, is the biggest adventure I could ever imagine. Much bigger and more beautiful than any mountaineering adventure I have had. There have been times when I have either been so scared and devastated or so stimulated, that it seemed I was the only one like it. But that's not so of course, so I have a compulsion - I believe a God-given compulsion - to share out of this experience.
• Likewise I have a desire to hear from other's experience and learn.
  

That's enough for starters, straight off the top of my head. I may have other reasons by the end of this time.

Just in case you feel there's not much 'devotional' content in this post, why not have a look at "I Believe In Miracles" in my other blog.

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Resting in God

I wondered what to write today, but nothing came to me. I could always think of a good idea or important topic and try and write some thought-provoking article. But I'm not an intellectual or clever enough for that and I'm not into good ideas either. I could keep on trying for an hour or so, pushing in a muscular way, in an attempt to provide something presentable. But I know when that happens, I won't be resting in God and won't be at peace.

On the other hand, if I feel in tune with Father and there is something on my heart, the words almost fly off the computer keyboard. It may not be perfect, but it will be my offering and it will have life.

I find it's the same with speaking. I have tried preaching and spent hours preparing and perfecting my pearls of wisdom. Then, on the day when I read from my script, it seems to come out flat and lifeless. I look at the sea of blank faces and just wish that I was somewhere else! - an aside: imagine a minister saying to his congregation, that God had not given him or her anything to say, so suggested they should spend the next half hour in silence? That would be a brave person?

Alternatively, if I really have something to say and I know the timing is right before God, I only have to open my mouth and the words just come. Like my writing, it may not be polished or word perfect, but it will have life. And somewhere out there, there may be only one person who engages and identifies and receives the nub of what I have to say and that's what it's all about!

I am learning.

Jesus wasn't performance-driven and under pressure, like I used to be. He only did what He saw His Father doing. He was a Man of poise. If we are at rest in God, then what we do make take effort, but it will be effortless and efficient. We will be in the flow with Him and we will know it.

"God's promise of enjoying his rest still stands. So be careful that none of you fails to receive it." Hebrews 4:1 New International Version

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