This post first appeared on Seriously Write.
We are writers. We carve out little niches of quiet and tranquility in which to write. Sometimes these tucked away locations are grabbed via noise-canceling earphones. Often they’re within our own home offices, hidden behind closed doors. Occasionally, we duck into little corners of coffeeshops.
We find places where we can think, so we can pound out the words. These places are often sacred to us. Here we meet with God. Here we are inspired. Here we write the words he gives.
This past month, we tore up our nest. A relocation across town set us in motion for several weeks as we moved over a load or two a day, ripping up my places of quiet tranquility and turning them into piles of boxes in foreign locations.
On the final day, friends and family crammed everything that was left into a truck and then helped us haul it all inside the new place. Family returned the next day to help make order out of the chaos. Still, the new home felt cold, disordered, and alien. The bathrooms and quiet corners weren’t ours yet. In the darkness of night, I crept around in the house, feeling the strangeness.
We grew exhausted during the process, and the bickering began, the failed attempts at extending grace, the petty squabbles, all coupled with the many apologies. These lapses brought even more need for a quiet space to talk with God about both the internal and the external mess.
Would God meet me here in this unfamiliar place?
Yes! Yes, of course!
In all of this chaos and turmoil, I found that God was with me in the silence within my own head and around the corner where I stepped to figure out what had transpired that had provoked a conflict. God was with me under the covers at night where I sought refuge because he felt so far away, merely because I wasn’t in my usual spot. He was with me in the darkness of the wee hours as I left my warm bed and walked about experiencing the weird unfamiliarity of our new abode. Even then, I found God in every corner of the place. He was everywhere.
In all of this chaos and turmoil, I found that God was with me. He was with me in the silence. He was with me in the darkness. I found God in every corner of the place. He was everywhere. #WriterLife Click To TweetWhere can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139: 7-12 NIV)
He gave inspiration for new work. He revealed future projects as I came across forgotten files. He provided even more corners and niches for silence and privacy in the arrangement of our new place. He met me where I was, speaking to me through the words of friends about the beauty and the hard times of life and how God meets us there. He wrapped me up in his love.
The Lord wants us to hear him. He wants us to find those places that allow us to commune with him. He will provide that space in the midst of wherever we are: in a crowded city, in a foreign land, on a mountaintop, in flight, in the wilderness, in conflict, and even in chaos.
The Lord gave inspiration for new work. He met me where I was. The Lord wants us to hear him. He wants us to find those places that allow us to commune with him. He will provide that space. #WritingCommunity Click To TweetWhen we turn our backs on a loud room, close our eyes, and fix our minds on him, he is there. We can even meet him in the darkness, seeking quiet refuge in a corner of our closets, when feeling shaken and out of kilter.
Dear writers, he wants us to find him, to seek his guidance, to listen in the quiet of our hearts for the gentle cadence of his voice, the soft warmth of his presence, so we can hear his words. But to do so, we must search for him with our whole hearts (Psalm 119). We must open our hearts to whatever he has to say to us and be willing to act, to write what he gives.
If we do, we will be blessed with his presence, and the words will flow. Will we?
Dear writers, God wants us to find him, to seek his guidance, to listen for the gentle cadence of his voice, the soft warmth of his presence, so we can hear his words and write what he gives. #WritingCommunity Click To Tweet
I am thankful God gives me words to share. I pray before writing. 🙂
Yes, same here. How could we do his message justice if we didn’t! Like you, Melissa, I’m so grateful for those words, for that inspiration!
You have painted a lovely picture of God’s grace with your words and encouragement. I pray for God to help you to continue hearing Him in the chaos and that He provides another special place for you.
Yvonne, thanks so much! Yes, some private and quiet corners have begun revealing themselves, though the dynamics are different now. I hope and pray we can sort out a productive work schedule for me in this place and during this time in our lives.
Dear Melinda, I receive the sweet words of this prayer over me and my writing, as well as that of other Christian brothers and sisters. How we need alone time and space with God, that we can be filled and in tune to His still small, yet powerfully moving voice. I loved these lines: “These places are often sacred to us. Here we meet with God. Here we are inspired. Here we write the words he gives.” May we meet with Him often, to write the words He gives. God bless you and your husband as you continue to settle in and find those sweet spots right where you are!
Melissa, thank so much for taking the time to stop by to comment! Taking the time to listen, to hear the Lord, is so important. For me, that requires space and the ability to find that space. His voice is the most important voice, so finding those spaces is incredibly important. I so agree!
I love the beautiful reminder of Psalm 139. God is with us no matter where we go, no matter how insignificant those places may seem to us at the time. Thanks for sharing this with us!
Yes, it’s so easy to forget in the crazy busy of life, but yet it’s a universal truth. I’m thank that the Lord had it recorded for us, so we would never forget this incredible fact. Thanks for your comment, Emily.
Beautiful, Melinda. I love how you paired that passage from Psalm 139 with your move, finding yourself in a new place and needing inspiration to write. Amazing how God is everywhere. I read a writer’s prayer one time from agent, Bob Hostetler. And I remember parts of it to pray before I write. For God to partner with me, self-awareness, wisdom, focus, inspiration, protection (from the enemy), hear God clearly, respond to God fully, and write better than I’m capable of on my own.
Praying before we write is essential, and praying during the editing as well as the drafting of what we feel led to write — also essential. We work for Jesus. When I get stuck or I’m not sure what to write next, I turn to Jesus. We partner with him, and he partners with me. I need that space to hear him, so the finding those spaces is credibly important. Thanks for adding to the conversation, Karen.
I love tbis quote: “When we turn our backs on a loud room, close our eyes, and fix our minds on him, he is there. We can even meet him in the darkness, seeking quiet refuge in a corner of our closets, when feeling shaken and out of kilter.”
So glad He meets us where we are! Beautiful words.