Don’t Hang Your Head – You Are Because I AM
Conferences of any kind bring inspiration, motivation and knowledge. Workshops fill our toolkits, exhibitors fill our resources, and keynote speakers challenge us. But sometimes God uses a speaker to undo us. That’s what happened to me this last week.
Visions Christian Writers Conference picked up the slack when the famous-among-West Coast-authors-Mt Hermon Writers Conference succumbed to covid related issues. In one of those God opens doors times, I registered at the last minute to attend. All I can say is, “Wow!”
Mt. Hermon
Mt Hermon Christian Conference Ground lies nestled in the coast range of California in the middle of the redwoods near Santa Cruz. Majestic trees, bubbling creeks with waterfalls, and the freshest air imaginable greets guests with a hug from nature. Since 1906 voices have been raised in worship, prayer and teaching Word of God, bringing the sense of His presence into the whole grounds.
Robin Jones Gunn
In the midst of this backdrop God brought Robin Jones Gunn to speak. (You may have read her Christy Miller series or Sierra Jensen series.) Robin began her talk with “Let me tell you a story,” and then proceeded to interweave her experiences with what God wanted to speak into the lives of her audience.
She spoke about teaching the first ever group of Christian women writers in Nairobi. (I believe that’s correct , but could be wrong.) As she greeted them the first night, “Hello Christian women writers of Nairobi,” they all hung their heads. They insisted that Robin was a writer, but they were not. She spent her week convincing them that they WERE writers.
“And everywhere I speak to writers, even here in America, you hang your heads.” The point she drove home undid us all. God called us to write, and yet we deny that call by being embarrassed to accept the name writer. We think we don’t have what it takes. We couldn’t possibly accomplish the dream God laid on our hearts.
It’s true we can’t accomplish the dream, only God can. But God called us to partner with Him to write His words. Therefore, we need to declare, “I am a writer.” Then submit to learn all we can about our trade and put our backside in a chair and write. Once you reach that point, it’s a delightful dance to watch words come alive on the page. Nothing brings greater joy and life than participating in what God has called us to do.
Robin Spoke to Writers, but Aren’t the Words True for All of Us?
God plants a dream in our heart. He gives us talent/gifting in the area of that dream, yet our doubts and fears cause us to hold back. We hang our heads and deny we are “good enough” to follow the dream. So we don’t. We muddle along never knowing the absolute joy it brings to allow God to breathe life into the dream and into us.
I think of the scene in Chariots of Fire where Eric Liddell says he felt God’s pleasure when he ran. What causes you to feel God’s pleasure? Have courage to pursue it – whether for the first time or once again if you tried and felt you failed.
Hold Up Your Head
Do you sing? Then sing. Do you write songs? Then write. Are you an accountant? Own it and count those beans. Are you an artist? Then declare that you are an artist and draw, or paint, or sculpt. Put fear behind you and go forward into what will bring life to you as you align yourself with what you were created to do, to be.
It’s only been the last ten months that I have held up my head and declared, “I am an author.” Even though I have had a few articles published over the years, I was embarrassed to count myself good enough to be called writer/author, so I didn’t. Nearly a year ago, in HIs gentle love, God put words in my heart that simply had to be written down. So, I started writing again. He has called me author, so I will do the same.
A whole room full of people heard Robin’s words, lifted their heads and left the room speechless as the King of kings spoke, “You are, because I AM.”
May you hear those words spoken over you.
