Open-Handed Writing

When the writing blues hit you, stand firm. Sharpen your pencil, pull out your journal, and then take notes. Pray. Spending time in that deep-rooted relationship with the Father will help you clear your way. You are a writer. You are an amazing writer. Now, go and write. — Cindy K. Sproles

Writers face decisions that seem simple until the consequence becomes apparent. Should you begin a new project or finish the one you’ve already started? Should you accept an editor’s suggestions or defend your original wording? Should you publish independently or wait for a better opportunity?

You gather information, seek advice, consider the possibilities, and make what appears to be the best choice. Yet sometimes, despite your careful reasoning, things don’t work out as expected.

What went wrong? Perhaps nothing. Or perhaps you were relying on what you knew without considering what you didn’t know.

That’s where discretion becomes essential.

The Trouble with What We Know

Knowledge is valuable, but it has a serious limitation. We can’t account for information we don’t know we’re missing. Imagine a novelist who spends months developing a manuscript around an exciting premise. The plot seems compelling, the characters are memorable, and the writing is superb. Confident of success, she invests thousands of dollars in editing, cover design, and marketing. But the book didn’t sell because the audience wasn’t impressed.

Was the decision foolish? Not necessarily. She acted on the information available. Unfortunately, some important information was missing. Good writers research their subjects. Wise writers also recognize the limitations of their research. God sees the entire picture, including possibilities we haven’t imagined, obstacles we can’t anticipate, and opportunities that have yet to appear.

Discretion begins when we recognize that even our best understanding is incomplete.

When Logic Isn’t Enough

Most of us depend heavily on logic. We organize ideas, establish cause-and-effect relationships, develop believable motivations, and construct stories in which events follow naturally from previous actions. Without logical thinking, our manuscripts would become confusing collections of disconnected thoughts.

But logic has limitations. Suppose you’re offered two opportunities. One promises greater exposure and potential financial rewards. The other offers little recognition but provides an opportunity to encourage struggling people. From a business perspective, the first opportunity might seem more attractive. But what if God intended to use the second opportunity to transform someone’s life?

The problem isn’t logic. The problem is assuming that logic alone can identify God’s purposes.

Trust God with your writing, and don’t depend only on your own ideas about what will work. Let the Lord guide every writing activity, and he will keep your message on the right track. — Proverbs 3:5–6 Scripture for Writers paraphrase

Trusting God doesn’t mean abandoning common sense. It means submitting our reasoning to a wisdom greater than our own. We should still examine opportunities, calculate expenses, evaluate risks, and consider consequences. But after gathering all that information, we should remain willing to discover that God has something different in mind.

Recognizing God’s Guidance

How can we know when God is directing us?

We have a thought. Is it divine guidance or merely a personal preference? An unexpected opportunity appears. Is God opening a door, or are we simply attracted to something exciting? A project encounters resistance. Should we persevere or recognize that it’s time to change direction?

Christians sometimes speak confidently about God’s leading, but we should be careful about treating every feeling or favorable circumstance as a divine instruction. This can be especially dangerous because we become emotionally invested in our work. We may desperately want a particular publisher to accept our manuscript. When an opportunity arises, we might immediately declare that God has opened the door. But an open door isn’t necessarily an instruction to enter. Neither is a closed door proof that God wants us to abandon our efforts. Scripture provides an essential foundation for discernment. God’s direction will not contradict his revealed character or biblical truth.

When you’re unsure about what’s true or how to move forward, simply ask God. He’s always ready to give you wisdom, and he’ll never judge you or make you feel foolish for asking. — James 1:5

We can also seek counsel from spiritually mature people, examine our motives, consider practical realities, and remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Yet even after doing these things, we may not possess absolute certainty. That’s when faith becomes more than a comforting concept. It becomes a way of living.

The Difference Between Confidence and Presumption

Confidence says, “God is trustworthy.” Presumption says, “I know exactly what God is going to do.” These are very different statements.

We might say, “God gave me this message, so my book will become a bestseller.” But who promised commercial success? God may indeed inspire someone to write a book that changes lives. Yet its impact might reach only a handful of readers. Its greatest influence could come years after the author’s death.

If we equate God’s blessing with immediate success, we risk becoming discouraged and quit when our expectations aren’t fulfilled. We can be confident in God’s faithfulness without being confident in our predictions. We can believe God will accomplish his purposes without insisting that he accomplish ours. Discretion allows us to hold our plans firmly enough to act but loosely enough to change.

When Waiting Is the Wisest Choice

Finish another chapter. Publish another article. Build a larger audience. Increase book sales. Develop a new platform. The constant emphasis on productivity can create the impression that inactivity is failure. But discretion sometimes requires restraint.

Imagine completing a promising manuscript. A publishing opportunity appears, and your pressured to act immediately. However, the manuscript still needs substantial revision. Publishing now might satisfy the desire to see the book in print, but waiting could produce a far better result.

There is a time to write, a time to revise, a time to submit, and sometimes a time to set a project aside. Waiting doesn’t necessarily mean doing nothing. It may mean preparing, learning, praying, or developing skills that will be needed later.

A farmer who plants seed doesn’t dig every morning to check its progress. Some growth occurs where it can’t be seen. Likewise, God may be accomplishing something important during seasons when our writing seems unproductive.

Discretion recognizes that faithfulness can’t always be measured by visible activity.

When Acting Is Better Than Waiting

Some writers become so concerned about making the wrong decision that they never make any decision. They pray about beginning a manuscript but never write the first paragraph. They research publishing possibilities without submitting anything. They continually revise because they fear the work isn’t ready. What appears to be careful discernment may actually be fear disguised as spirituality.

God hasn’t created us to be robots who move only after receiving explicit instructions for every action. He has given us minds to think, abilities to develop, opportunities to recognize, and responsibilities to fulfill.

If you have a worthwhile message, the ability to communicate it, and an opportunity to serve others, you may not need a dramatic spiritual experience before beginning. Pray for wisdom. Examine your motives. Consider your responsibilities. Then write.

You can correct a poorly written paragraph. You can’t improve a paragraph that you haven’t yet written. Discretion isn’t the elimination of risk. It’s the willingness to act responsibly while trusting God with what remains uncertain.

Ordinary Decisions Can Have Extraordinary Consequences

Suppose you decide to write a devotional because a particular Bible verse encourages you. Someone reads it during a season of suffering and discovers hope. Another reader shares it with a friend who has abandoned the faith. Years later, someone remembers a sentence you wrote and makes a life-changing decision. You couldn’t have planned those results. You might never learn that they occurred. But God knows.

This is one reason we should never measure the significance of our work solely by readership numbers, financial returns, or public recognition. A message that reaches one person at the right moment may accomplish more than a bestselling book that leaves people unchanged.

Our responsibility is to write faithfully. God will determine where our words will travel.

Learning to Recognize Our Motives

Besides evaluating circumstances, we should examine ourselves. Why do we want to write this particular book? Are we trying to help people, or are we hoping to establish our importance? Do we want to communicate truth, or do we want others to acknowledge our wisdom? Are we seeking an opportunity to serve, or are we seeking admiration? These questions can be uncomfortable when our motives aren’t as pure as we would like to believe. Even worthwhile projects can become entangled with selfish ambitions.

We might begin with a genuine desire to encourage others, then gradually become more concerned about reviews, rankings, and recognition. And money. If a publishing opportunity requires dishonesty, manipulation, or compromise, its apparent benefits shouldn’t determine our response. If criticism makes us defensive and unwilling to listen, perhaps our pride is interfering with our ability to recognize useful correction.

Discretion isn’t merely choosing the right opportunity. It’s becoming the kind of person who can recognize what matters most. The more we surrender our ambitions to God, the less likely we are to confuse personal advancement with divine direction.

Trusting God When the Outcome Disappoints

Suppose you pray carefully, evaluate your choices, seek counsel, and proceed with what you believe is the right decision. Then everything falls apart. A publisher rejects your manuscript. A writing partnership ends badly. An expensive project produces disappointing results. Does that mean you misunderstood God’s direction? Maybe not. A difficult outcome doesn’t automatically prove that the original decision was wrong.

The apostle Paul experienced opposition, imprisonment, and physical suffering while faithfully carrying out his calling. Obstacles didn’t necessarily mean he was headed in the wrong direction.

Those who love God and keep writing their stories to fulfill his purpose should know that all their rejections will work together for good. — Romans 8:28

That promise doesn’t guarantee that every manuscript will sell, every project will succeed, or every disappointment will eventually become a visible triumph. It assures us that God remains at work even when circumstances don’t unfold as we hoped. We keep learning from mistakes without assuming that every painful experience represents failure.

Sometimes we need to change our approach.

Sometimes we need to persevere.

And sometimes we simply need to trust God with results we can’t understand.

Writing with Open Hands

Picture a writer who has invested hundreds of hours in researching, drafting, revising, and polishing the work. Every chapter represents her personal effort, and every page carries a measure of hope. Now, imagine her extending that manuscript toward God with open hands. “Lord, this belongs to you. I’ve done what I know to do. Show me what needs to change, where it should go, and how it can serve your purposes.”

That’s the posture of discretion. It doesn’t diminish the value of hard work. Instead, it gives that work a greater purpose.

In everything you write, pour your best effort into it, pleasing the Lord as you seek to help others. — Colossians 3:23

We should strive for excellence because our work matters. We should remain teachable because our understanding is limited. And we should release our demand for specific outcomes because the results ultimately belong to God.

An open hand can receive correction. It can accept new opportunities. It can release projects whose purpose has been fulfilled.

A clenched fist can’t.

A Daily Practice of Discretion

Godly discretion isn’t reserved for major decisions about contracts, careers, or publishing opportunities. It belongs in the ordinary moments of the writing life.

• Before criticizing another author’s work, ask whether your words will encourage improvement or merely demonstrate your superiority.

• Before responding to a negative review, consider whether your response will accomplish anything worthwhile.

• Before starting another project, examine whether you’re neglecting a responsibility you’ve already accepted.

• Before deleting a difficult chapter, consider whether the problem is the material itself or your reluctance to do the work required to improve it.

• Before assuming you understand a situation, remember how much you might not know.

Lord, guide my writing according to your will. Show me what to write, how to express it, and whom my words should reach. Teach me to communicate your truth with clarity and purpose. I trust you to direct my thoughts and inspire my words, for my hope is in you every moment of every day. — Psalm 25:4–5

Such a prayer is appropriate at the beginning of any writing session. It needn’t be elaborate. We can maintain an ongoing conversation with God while researching, writing, editing, and making decisions. We don’t have to choose between thinking and praying. Both belong in the process. Over time, this continual dependence can reshape the way we approach our work. Instead of asking only, “What can I accomplish today?” we begin asking, “What would faithfulness look like today?” The difference may seem small, but it changes everything.

The Freedom of Not Having to Know Everything

You don’t have to understand every consequence before making a responsible decision. You don’t have to predict how readers will respond. You don’t have to know whether your next manuscript will be published, how many people will read it, or what influence it may eventually have.

Our words may travel to places we’ll never visit. They may encourage people we’ll never meet. They may bear fruit long after we’ve forgotten writing them. We can’t control those outcomes, but we can surrender our work to God who knows every possibility.

So gather your information. Develop your skills. Seek wise counsel. Examine your motives. Pray for understanding. Then make the best decision you can with the wisdom available, remaining willing to change direction when necessary.

You don’t have to know everything to take the next faithful step.

The essence of godly discretion isn’t knowing with certainty what God will do, but it’s trusting him enough to follow wherever he leads.

More times than not, following begins with a simple act of faith.

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