I wonder if people think writing comes naturally to writers. In the same way, people probably think song writing comes super easy to a musician. Maybe for some it does, but for me that is not always the case. There are often times I stare at the screen in search of inspiration. That can often make it tough to stick to my blog post schedule. It is really annoying and frustrating. I sit there and think I shouldn’t be stuck. I should be able to pull up the page and easily fill it with words. When I’m in that mode, if I do write anything it is usually forced and not very good. Sometimes those things don’t even get posted. They just end up in the trash can.
There is something I’ve found that will help stir my inspiration. It works without fail. When I spend time with God, He inspires me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve got inspiration for a post during worship at church. It is not shocking that it was during worship that God told me to scrap a project I had worked on and start something new (see this post for details). The problem is that I’m not always close with God. I’m not always good about spending time with God daily.
There have been so many times where I’ve told myself I’ll start waking up earlier to have a quiet time first thing in the morning. That never happens. I used to be in a really good habit of listening to Christian podcasts every Monday and I’ve gotten out of that habit. About the only thing I do regularly is listen to worship music, and that is really just because I thoroughly enjoy some worship bands (as I’m writing this I’m listening to the new stuff from Hillsong United). You would think the equation, Me + spending time with God = inspiration for my dreams, would be easy enough to get, but apparently there is a hidden variable somewhere in there.
Hillsong Young and Free have a song called Energy. In it they sing, “When You speak dreams and reality collide.” How powerful is that? We have all these dreams and when God speaks they can become reality. God is the ultimate inspiration. I can write, but without God speaking I’m probably not going to have much to say that is worth reading.
So how do I get better at staying close to God? The answer is simple and hard at the same time. I need to intentionally set aside time to spend with Him. I know that and have for years. It’s nothing new or groundbreaking. You are not shocked at that answer. Yet it is something I continually struggle with. If I want my dreams to collide with reality, I’ve got to figure it out. I’m a long way from arriving there, but hopefully I’ll start taking some steps and be on my way.
until next time…
Photo courtesy of Moyan Brenn