Laura @ Fearless Lane and I did a blog collaboration today! You can find the article I wrote for her blog here: writing what you love | the beauty in the story God has given you

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I once read a story, in Evidence Not Seen, about a woman who learned Chinese “on her knees.” God taught her the language. Imagine God teaching someone a language as intricate as Chinese! If God can teach someone a language, what can’t he teach them? 

Could he teach them about writing? 

Based on the fact that his book has outsold every other book published and that he created writing, I think he’d be your top pick if you were looking for a writing mentor. Many of you have probably thought about having a writing mentor, you may have even considered different people in your life who would be a great fit, but did you ever think your writing mentor could be God?

“The man who has it, doesn’t know he has it.”

One of my favorite Sherlock Holmes movies, called Sherlock Holmes in Washington, features a government agent who is transporting extremely secretive documents. As you can expect, his journey is interrupted and he is abducted. A search for the missing documents then ensues. Well, two searches; one conducted by the villain and another by Sherlock Holmes—who is looking for the villain as well as the documents. 

In the end, the villain ends up having had the missing documents with him, only he was completely oblivious to the fact. (I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but you really have to hand it to that agent for the clever way in which he hid those documents!). By this time, Holmes knows where the documents have been hidden, and says to the villain—who is about to kidnap him—“The man who has it, doesn’t know he has it.”

I think we can be similar to that villain sometimes, in the fact that we have complete access to the wisdom and assistance of the greatest author in the world and yet we don’t know it, or we forget it. 

God, who identifies himself as “The Word” (John 1:1), is so many things to us: father, friend, king, comforter, savior, Holy Spirit. But do we ever think of him as a writing mentor? 

He has already promised to teach us

There are multiple scriptures that show just how God wants to teach and guide us. “I will instruct thee and teach thee,” he says in Psalms 32:8. “I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go,” he says in Isaiah 48:17. And then there’s one of my favorite verses in Isaiah 41:13, “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.”

God wants to instruct, teach, lead, and help you. He doesn’t just give you a dream to write and then send you off to go do it. He stays right by you, holding you hand, telling you that he is going to help you. 

“I will instruct you and teach you about writing,” he says. “I am the God that teaches you to profit, that leads you on the writing path that is exactly what you need. I’m holding your hand as you sit there at your desk. I’m saying to you, ‘Don’t be afraid because of that deadline, don’t be afraid because of that writer’s block, don’t be afraid because of that plot hole. I’ll help you.’”

But like with salvation, God doesn’t force his help on us. He gives us a choice of whether to take it or leave it (Deuteronomy 30:19). You may wonder, “How could anyone ‘leave’ such an offer?!”

You’d be surprised. Many of us do it everyday, without even realizing it. 

Why is writing still so hard?

It’s easy to know about all the ways God has promised to help you, but you won’t see results until God actually becomes your mentor. You have to ask him to! God doesn’t force his advice on you. Instead he says, “Draw near to me, and I will draw near to you. Ask for wisdom and you will receive it.” (James 4:8, 1:5.) 

You have to acknowledge God as your writing mentor. “In all thy ways acknowledge him,” says Proverbs 3:6, “and he shall direct thy paths.” You can’t just do whatever you want and then decide that God’s promises don’t work.

Think of it this way: when someone gives you a gift, it’s not yours until they hand it to you and you accept it. Just because the gift has already been purchased and is in their house, car, or purse, doesn’t mean that it’s yours. It just means that it’s for you. You can’t own and enjoy it until they offer it to you and you claim it. God’s gift—his promise to help and teach us—is the same way. 

He has already offered you his gift of help, instruction, and wisdom, but it’s not yours until you reach out to take it. You have to ask for it and then you’ll receive it. You have to get up close to God and then he’ll get up close to you. 

You may be sitting at your desk, frustrated, discouraged, and wondering if you should just quit writing for the day,  but you could be in his arms instead, asking for his advice and help. And when you do that he comes  right beside you, holds your hand and pours his wisdom into your ear. James 1:5-6 says that when someone asks for wisdom and does not doubt, God will give him wisdom liberally. 

The reality that God is offering you

When God gave you the dream of being a writer, he didn’t expect you to go out on your own and figure it all out by yourself. He gave you access to all the wisdom and instruction from the most experienced and skilled writer in the world—himself! 

He has given you:

• constant access to himself (Joshua 1:9.)
• wisdom and counsel—liberally (James 1:5-6, Isaiah 48:17.)
• help and comfort (Isaiah 41:3.)

He says, “Call unto me and I will answer thee, and shew unto thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jeremiah 33:3.) 

Your God wants to be your writing mentor. He’s offering to pour writing wisdom into you, to lead you in the way that you should go, to help you. But you have to ask him for it. You have to get close to him. Then you’ll have all the mentorship you need to reach the level God has for you.  

Here’s my question for you: if the most talented writer in the world contacted you and offered to give you one-on-one sessions and answer any questions that you had, would you accept? Well, this is your day. The most talented writer in the world just contacted you and offered to give you one-on-one sessions and answer any questions that you have. Will you accept? 

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Laura Ann is a child of God, a writer, the oldest of nine siblings, a musician and much more! She loves playing her guitar, cooking and baking, gardening, and spending time with family and friends.

She believes that it is possible for young writers to create fearlessly, without letting fear hinder them and take their joy. She thinks that the writing journey can be a lot more fun, satisfying, and joyful than we can imagine. You can find her on her blog, Fearless Lane, on Instagram, and on her email list!