Welcome to Day 18 of 31 Days to Telling Your Story – a series of posts written in conjunction with 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes.
Today’s prompt is: SEARCH
For the past few days in this series, we’ve been discussing ways to know when we should share our story, particularly if other people are involved who might take offense or get upset.
We’ve talked about the importance of praying and seeking the Lord’s face for guidance, wisdom, and discernment. We’ve talked about waiting to publish anything that might come from a Heart of hostility or bitterness.
Today I want to go deeper into what it means to Search our own hearts and measure our motives.
After all, what is the real reason you want to publish whatever it is you’ve written? Deep in your heart of hearts, what’s the motivation behind you wanting your story to go public?
If you truly and sincerely believe that sharing your story might help, bless, or benefit someone else, you’re in a good place.
Here are some passages that come to mind as I consider what it means to search my own heart:
Psalm 139:23-24 — “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Psalm 19:14 — “May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”
We’re studying the Sermon on the Mount at church, and I think the following passage could definitely apply to the writing life:
Matthew 5:23-24 — “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
If we consider our writing to be an offering to the Lord but sense that someone might take offense to something we’ve written, we should first go and seek reconciliation before giving our offering to the Lord.
Then finally, I’ve been guilty of the following on more occasions than I’d like to admit. Could it be true of some of my published writing, as well? I’m embarrassed to admit it, but yes!
Matthew 7:3-5 — “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
May the Lord help us with these issues as we seek to write in such a way that honors and glorifies Him alone.
Find more posts in this series here.
The post Search Our Hearts, Lord {Day 18 :: Search} appeared first on Five Minute Friday.
