Friday, February 26, 2021

How God Orchestrates the Events of Our Writing Life—The Mystery of the Open Door


By Lori Hatcher @LoriHatcher2

 

Do you ever pray for God to “open the door” in your publishing life? I do. Every day.

 

“Lord, open the door for this article to be published.”

 

“Lord, open the door for me to write/speak/teach/serve or ______(fill in the blank).”

 

“Lord, open the door for someone to publish my book.”

 

What exactly does it look like when God opens a door? In its most heavenly form, it means that God, out of nowhere and with no effort on our part, drops an incredible opportunity into our lap that we could never have engineered, fenagled, or coerced.

 

Scott Hubbard, in his article, “Walk in His Providence, How God Opens Doors for You,” writes, “Some of us live as though providence were something only to react to. We wait for a clear, providential open door, and then we react to that providence by walking through the doorway.”

 

In its most realistic and common form, however, God’s open doors are directly related to the effort we expend. “God has planned,” Hubbard continues, “for some doors to open only as we push them.”

 

This approach is biblical. Paul prayed, then headed off to Bithynia, where the door remained closed. He prayed and diverted to Troas. There he received a vision that directed him to Macedonia, where God opened the door for him to preach the gospel and plant the church at Philippi. 

 

Sadly, many of us, as Hubbard writes, “. . . sit in the hallway of life, waiting until a divine hand should swing a door open and push us through it.”

 

In most cases, this isn’t the way the writing world works. God expects us to walk the hallways, prayerfully seeking His direction and doing the work He leads us to do, until we arrive at the door He intends to open. With our arms full of experience, skill, and strength of character, we nudge the door and watch it swing open.

 

If it doesn’t, we head off down the hallway again, confident that, in the fullness of time, when we’ve learned the lessons, acquired the skills, and polished our writing ‘til it shines, we’ll turn the next (or the next, or the next) handle, and the door will swing wide.

 

Every open door I’ve experienced in my writing life has come about because I’ve prayed, sought God’s direction, and done the work.

 

A magazine published my first article after I wrote and rewrote it a dozen times, then submitted it for consideration.

 

I received an invitation to speak at a government agency’s annual conference after I joined a writers group and happened to meet the organization’s deputy director. 

 

The editor of Reach Out, Columbia magazine recommended me as her successor after I’d written for her (sometimes without pay) for three years.

 

I was invited to teach at a writers conference after submitting workshop proposals every year for five years.

 

I received a contract for Refresh Your Faith, Uncommon Devotions from Every Book of the Bible, after revising and reworking a proposal that had been rejected by 25 publishers.

 

Ask successful writers about their journey, and you’ll hear a similar story. Sometimes God swings open a door we never see until we’re standing in front of it. Most of the time, He pairs our human effort with His divine providence to accomplish His perfect will.

 

Writer, we have blog posts to create, articles to write, and book proposals to submit. How will we know if God intends to open the publishing door for any of these? 

 

We’ll pray, work hard, and turn the handle.


TWEETABLE

How God Orchestrates the Events of Our Writing Life—The Mystery of the Open Door  - @LoriHatcher2 on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Lori Hatcher loves God even more than she loves chocolate—and that’s a lot. Since He saved her at age 18, she’s been on a relentless journey to know and love Him more. Her deepest desire is for her others to join her on the journey. As an author, blogger, and women’s ministry speaker, she writes for Our Daily Bread, Guideposts, Revive Our Hearts, and Crosswalk.com. She’s written three devotional books, including Refresh Your Faith, Uncommon Devotions from Every Book of the Bible, and Hungry for God…Starving for Time, Five-Minute Devotions for Busy Women. Connect with her at LoriHatcher.com or on Facebook, Twitter (@lorihatcher2) or Pinterest (Hungry for God).

19 comments:

  1. Lori, it's so encouraging to read the quotes you shared and to be reminded that God is the one who holds the door open, but our footsteps are what carry us through it.

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    1. "...but our footsteps are what carry us through it." I LOVE THIS, Barbara. You're exactly right. And so we press on . . . in FAITH. God's blessings on your writing journey.

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  2. Lori,

    Thank you for this article and the encouragement to keep praying and keep working hard and knocking on the right door. Pitching and the following up is a key part of the writing life. As an editor, I've found many writers that I've asked for their work at a conference--and emailed and called--don't send it and give themselves a chance of getting published. It sounds strange to write it but I've seen it first hand over and over.

    Terry
    author of 10 Publishing Myths, Insights Every Author Needs to Succeed

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    1. Terry I've seen the same thing over and over again in my tenure as a magazine editor. I meet with writers at conferences, ask them to submit what I think is an excellent piece, and never hear from them again. And these are writers who have made the effort to knock on the door and watch it swing open! When someone does email me after a conference, I'm usually delightfully surprised, because it doesn't happen often. Thanks for chiming in today. God's blessings on your work.

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  3. Lori, thank you for your very specific examples and the great Bible reference point which is certainly crystal clear.

    I also pray, "God please open the doors You want open," as a way to release the project from my carrying the whole burden - while still slogging on. :)

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    1. Exactly, Chris, we can trust God's sovereignty and His good plan. We release it to Him, and trust. What a gift!

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  4. Great insight, Lori.
    I should trust the Divine Providence more.

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    1. There is great comfort there, Ingmar, and peace! God's blessings on your writing life :)

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  5. Thank you Lori, just what I needed to hear! "For I have plans for you..."(which includes learning the work). My word for the year is Trust, which includes my part of the journey.
    We’ll pray, work hard, and turn the handle. Yes!

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    1. It's a beautiful collaboration -- we grow in faith and trust while God works His good purposes through us. A win/win!

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  6. So much truth packed into the article! Thank you!

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    1. You are most welcome, Crystal. God's blessings on your writing life.

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  7. Lori, thank you for broadening my perspective on this topic. Your post brims with inspiration and encouragement.

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    1. I find, Jeannie, that the more we release to God, the more He's able to accomplish through us. I love how He guides our steps AS we're walking :)

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  8. As a recovering perfectionist this is a lesson I need to embrace. Nothing is perfect (just right) the first time ever. I need to find JOY in revisions and do overs and continued tries.

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  9. Thank you, Lori. You are so right. I get discouraged and talk myself out of opportunities that I've told God I'd take if he just gave them to me. Sometimes, it's easy to see a closed door where there's an opportunity. Thanks for the encouragement.

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  10. Thanks, Lori. I love writing about the mysteries of life and hope to (one day) totally embrace this lesson too. Amen. He is our guide.

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  11. I really appreciated the balance you hit between knocking on those doors and working hard. Thank you for an encouraging post!

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  12. Thank you for the encouragement and motivation to pursue the dreams God gives us by doing our part.

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