Are You Including God In Your Publishing Plans?

by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth

“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they have been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.” Muhammad Ali

But [Jesus] said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” Luke 18:27

I first saw this quote from Muhammad Ali on Shayla Raquel’s blog. What a great mindset for us as writers to take into the new year. We are so quick to label one of our thoughts or dreams as impossible. And that becomes an excuse for us to not even attempt it. An idea is often the start to a journey, and it is on that journey that God prepares us and works His plan in us. By shooting for a big goal, even if you don’t reach it, you may go farther than you could have ever expected.

But are you making the right plans and goals for the new year?

How would your plans change if you quit thinking something is impossible?

I think a lot of big achievements never happen because a person was afraid to take the first step. When you’re thinking of climbing a mountain, it feels hopeless when you’re standing at the foot and looking way up to it’s peak. It is much easier to just walk through the gate.

You often hear someone say they have never done something before, or never done it this way before. I think everyone has, at one time or another, cowered before the fear of the unknown. But it is a fear without any teeth.

Just because it is new, doesn’t mean it’s bad or won’t work. It just means you’ll probably have to learn something new. I hate that. I’m old. Every time I turn around, there’s something else I need to learn. That probably needs another unique password I have to remember. (Sorry. One of my pet peeves.) Yet, it’s amazing at the things I’ve been able to do once I decided to learn how.

How would your plans change if you thought God was on your side?

It’s easy to think that God is too busy and I’m not important enough for God to care about me. I mean, there are a lot of people in this world. Most of them better, smarter, prettier, more whatever than me. Right?

That thought is understandable, but it is also unbiblical and just plain wrong. Jeremiah 29: 11, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” That’s not me wishing it, but God stating His fact.

God created each of us with a plan in His mind. One of my daily prayers is for me to achieve His plan in my life, and nothing less. Now, I don’t know what it is. If I did, it would probably scare me senseless. But I know that my only part to achieve it is to be obedient, he has made me to succeed and he has set it up so that it will happen.

If we allow God to start us on a journey, there is no telling where He will take us.

How can I know that God cares about me?

This question sets the foundation for many of our relations toward God. Especially after a year like we have just had, filled with COVID, calls for social justice, a divisive election, wildfires out west, and so much other crazy stressful happenings. So many of us have had to stay in, making us feel isolated, forgotten by our friends and everyone else. It’s easy to start thinking that I’m just little ole me. God has many more important people to be concerned about. I can’t measure up.

However, that isn’t how God has shown us He works. He doesn’t just care about or consider only the cool people, the important people, the in crowd.

When Jesus was at the temple watching people give their offerings, He didn’t mention the top giver, the latest celebrity, or the best dressed. And they were there, seeking everyone’s attention.

Instead, he pointed out the poor, ill dressed woman who had only been able to scrounge up two mites, only a couple of cents. Most of us would have patted her on her back and told her to keep them. Jesus saw her heart. Her faithfulness. And held her up to the leaders around Him as an example.

God is the ideal parent, he doesn’t see us as the world sees us, He sees us as He created us to be. Without the biases and stigmas that the world puts on us. He sees the true you. Even the you that you can’t accept when you look in the mirror. He sees, loves, and accepts you.

How can I change my plans to include God?

God is a holy God, and He calls us to be holy. He calls us His children, setting us apart from everyone else. He doesn’t call us by race, political party, nationality, or even fashion sense. Getting an evangelist’s pompadour is not how you get into His family. It’s only by believing in Jesus Christ as your savior. And that makes you different from everyone else in the world. Your thoughts, plans, future are all different.

And because we are different, our goals can’t be same as the world’s. Our decisions won’t be determined by the desire to get into a certain club, to be associated with the right people, to gauge an opportunity only by what it will get us.

Will adding God into your yearly goals make a difference?

Will you let God lead you to a place where you may feel uncomfortable so He can use you in a surprising new way?

Will you let 2021 be a miraculous year? Or are you going to stay safe on your porch and wish you knew a God who would love you like this?

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Are You Including God in Your Publishing Plans? - @TimSuddeth on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Tim Suddeth is a stay-at-home dad and butler for his wonderful, adult son with autism. He has written numerous blogs posts, short stories, and three novels waiting for publication. He is a frequent attendee at writers’ conferences, including the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference and a member of Word Weavers and ACFW. He lives near Greenville, SC where he shares a house with a bossy Shorky and three too-curious Persians. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, or at timingreenville.com.