Over a year ago, I attended my first Christian writers conference. It was a big deal, taking a wobbly step of faith toward the belief that God wanted me to pursue this writing thing.
As I drove home after a glorious three days of extremely helpful insights and inspiration from experts in the field, I asked the Lord why He led me to that conference.
Immediately the song, “Where I Belong” by Building 429 came onto the radio.
The chorus precisely spelled out the main premise of a memoir I had been working on for a while:
All I know is I’m not home yet
This is not where I belong
Take this world and give me Jesus
This is not where I belong
It felt like a confirmation that God wanted me to keep going with the message I wanted to write.
Just after the song ended, the next one began: Storyteller, by Morgan Harper Nichols.
The mountain where I climbed
The valley where I fell
You were there all along
That’s the story I’ll tell
You brought the pieces together
Made me this storyteller
Now I know it is well, it is well
That’s the story I’ll tell
I pulled my car into an empty parking lot and grabbed a notebook and pen. I had to capture the moment. The timing of those two songs couldn’t have been more perfect.
Has that ever happened to you?
This past week, it happened again. I was so surprised to find an excerpt from my chapter of Craving Connection in the new Illustrated Faith devotional kit from DaySpring.
Photo credit: incourage.me
Given the recent news headlines, it was no small coincidence to have words that I wrote several months ago appear at such a time as this:
“How can we love beyond the gate? How can we love beyond the gates of racial differences, of country borders, of economic brackets?”
After feeling discouraged about the state of affairs in our country and the world, God gave me this reminder in my mailbox that He is bigger than all of it. He’s bigger, and He’s in control, and He’s using His people to be His hands and feet in this dark and broken place.
He’s using the gifts and creative expression of His children to bring hope and color and truth through His Word.
The Illustrated Faith kit is a great way to express the creativity He has given you and connect it to the power of Scripture.
Grab your own Craving Connection Illustrated Faith Kit here!
Photo credit: Illustrated Faith
This post was sponsored by DaySpring and contains affiliate links.
How has God’s perfect timing shown up in your life?
How has He used words to encourage and bless you?
How can you use your creative gifts to express your devotion to Him and grow in His Word!
Share your story in the comments!
God’s timing is amazing! Thanks for the encouragement! What Christian writing conference did you go to?
God’s timing is perfect! Isn’t it amazing? I especially love the way music touches our hearts and souls and encourages our minds and bodies, too. And when you hear just the right song for the moment, that is a blessing.
Thanks for sharing.
Wow! I self published a collection of short stories almost ten years ago that I entitled, Perfect Timing.” In it, I shared many instances when God had a word of encouragement or special provision. However, what came to mind first for me was when I was traveling across the country to surprise my mom for her 60th birthday. While en route, I got stranded overnight in North Carolina. I was so ticked at God. I was trying to honor my mom and felt so frustrated over the loss of time. I felt He was not living up to His end of the deal. Scripture tells us, “Honor thy mother and father that it may go well with you.” Things were anything BUT going well. Little did I know what God was up to. While waiting for a flight the next day I came across a book by Lysa Terkeurst entitled, “What Happens When Women Walk in Faith.” Within the first few chapters, Lysa explains how just because we are in God’s will, that does not mean we are exempt from facing obstacles i.e. Israel and the land of giants. Instead, He gives us what we need to overcome and sees us through to the other side of it. I made it to my mom’s big birthday bash, but upon returning home to NY, she choked up on the phone. She was overcome with gratitude that I was willing to go through so much just to be with her for such an important milestone. No one had ever done anything like that for her before. What a lesson for me that there is always more than what meets our eye.