Great Writers Series: Believe

~~ Hebrews11:1 (NIV84) ~~  Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

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by Carley Cooper

It’s day two of the 15 Habits of Great Writers challenge.  On day one the assignment was ‘Declare’; that is to tell the world that I am a Writer.  Our assignment for today is simply to Believe!  It’s the second habit of great writers.  Jeff Goins says, about being a great writer, that “Belief in something you can feel, touch, and taste is one thing.  Faith is another.  If you’re going to succeed, you’re going to have to believe you’re a writer — in the deepest core of yourself.  That part of you that you’re scared to show the world.  You’re going to have to trust in what you can’t yet see.”  If I were a believer in coincidences, right now I would say “Wow.  What a coincidence?!”  You see, I had a couple of big revelations when I read that quote. 

First, is that believing and faith are also at the very core of God’s message for us and our relationship with Him.  If we don’t believe in Him and have faith in Him; He cannot do His work in our hearts and our lives.  Therefore, we won’t get great blessings; and most importantly we won’t go to Heaven to spend eternity with Him.  I need the tools of believing and faith to be a be a great writer, and to be a child of God.  But, the biggest revelation about that is I can’t be a great writer without God.  I know that there are no coincidences in this world.  God has a perfect plan down to the last detail.  Everything has a reason and a purpose. 

He has made drastic changes in my life and in my heart in the past several years.  I’m a whole new person; literally body, mind and spirit.  As far as I’ve come though, I’m nowhere near complete.  There’s still a lot more work to be done inside my heart.  Then, again I suppose that would be obvious to the average believer just due to the fact that I’m still standing on this side of Heaven’s gates.  I have come past the point in this transformation where I know that I cannot live without God; and I don’t want to.  I do believe in Him, and what He’s trying to accomplish in me.  My heart truly longs to have His will be done in me.  I also long to be a better writer.  I can’t imagine that I will ever stop that pursuit of wanting to be better at this craft.  I know that this kind of longing, to always be better, is who I am just from other things in my life; like healthy living.  I read books, and articles on practically a daily basis to get better at it. 

The second revelation I had from Jeff Goins’ quote is about my biggest obstacle; which is fear.  It’s been an obstruction in my life; all my life.  That’s hardly a unique story in and of itself though.  Satan uses that tactic on every one of us.  It is this fear that has kept me from so many things in my life.  One of my biggest struggles has always been the fear of letting the outside world see the ‘real’ Carley; exactly what Mr. Goins was referring to, only in my case it’s not just my writer side, it’s all  of me.  The person I see in my mind as being who I really am, is not the person the world sees.  I want so much for others to see me the way I see me; which is a bubbly, outgoing, very free spirit who is unique.  I’ve never learned how to let her out.  I have prayed a lot about it in the last few years.  I know fear is at the root of the issue, and that it is a very deeply rooted problem.  But on several occasions recently God has been giving me messages that this will change.  I believe that part of this continued transformation that I am going through, is that I will not only feel free to be me but I will, as a result, have the ability to express myself through a new career in writing.

God has been doing a lot to let me know that I have no reason to fear.  Just like there are stories I could tell you about how He’s been encouraging me about  being myself, there are many I could tell you about how He’s given me the message of “do not fear.  One of the most life altering bible verses that I read, early on in my Christian walk, was as a result of a great bible study.  It was 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV): ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’  It spoke to me on so many levels.  First, that fear is not from God.  Fear is from the enemy which means it is a lie.  The old acronym is true; the world FEAR means False Evidence Appearing Real.  Next, that I have a sound mind.  Being that I have mental health disorders, the fear of losing my sanity has weighed heavily on me.  It was a relief to know that God gave me a sound mind.  This tells me that this dragon that I battle, can be beaten.  It’s given me much passion and motivation to push through this, and many things; including my weight loss and healthy living program. 

Another message that God has given me several times, through various means, is that “I was made for more”.  The first time I got this message I wrote it on a few sticky notes and put it up around my apartment,  in such places as my mirrors and refrigerator, where I could see it all the time; for inspiration.  As always, when a message is from God, He will confirm it from more than one source.  Today, it was through a third revelation from Jeff Goins in an article called The One Fear We Refuse to Talk About.  In it, he says “And until we do it, [that one big thing we were meant to do in life] we live in the tension of a divine discontent, by which the voice of God whispers in our ears, ‘You were made for more than this.’“  I saw this as a sign from God that following this dream of being a writer is indeed what He wants for me.  He has great plans for my future.  Part of this process of learning to show the real me is already starting to happen; and it’s through my writing.  I share my stories about myself with you, here, so that you can see God’s glory and worship Him with me.  God has also told me several times in recent weeks to “Dream big, pray big.”  In the beginning I wasn’t sure I completely understood this, but I began praying for big dreams.  I was indeed made for more.  Big faith, brings big prayers, for big dreams which are called big blessings. 

As a Christian, I know that if I am to believe that I am a writer, than I also believe that it is because God put that passion in my heart.  He was the one who gave me this gift.  Therefore, I also believe that since it is my place in His plan for me to be a writer, I also believe that He will bring me the people, work, words, opportunities, education, and anything else necessary to complete my mission.  I’m sure that for many new writers, making the declaration that ‘I am a writer’ is the first step to believing it.  For me, though, it was coming to that realization, and believing it, that caused me to finally say “I am a writer.”  I believe this, because I believe and have faith in God.  My assignment for day two of this challenge is complete.  I do indeed believe!

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~~ Dear God ~~  Thank You for the transformation; for the struggles that show me that You are indeed working in my life.  Thank You that I believe and have faith in You, in my dreams, in further changes; and that I am a writer.  In Jesus name, AMEN.

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