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3 Ways To Define Success As a Christian Writer

January 14, 2013 by 7 Comments

success Christian writer

Writing for God is decidedly different from being an average writer. What we do, how we do it and even what we gain from it are unique experiences.

We write because God has given us a voice and we want to use that voice to bring others closer to him. Our goals should not be to make money or become famous. But since those are the things generally associated with success, how do we measure our success without them?

To answer this question we must ask ourselves another: “How does God define success?”

Obedience is Key

When David was dying he gave his son Solomon some advice,

“Do what the LORD your God commands and follow his teachings. Obey everything written in the Law of Moses. Then you will be a success, no matter what you do or where you go.”

That advice is still relevant today. If we obey God and follow his lead with our lives as well as our writing, we will be successful. It may not yield riches or power but being obedient and fulfilling our purpose is worth much more in the only kingdom that matters.

One Is A Priceless Number

If my blog only gets 100 hits today and I get one comment, am I still successful? Yes. The truth is that in God’s economy, reaching one person is a priceless thing. If that one blog comment says, “I really needed to hear this today,” you’ve done a great job! If today you can string words together in a way that changes one person’s day and points them in the right direction, you can count yourself as crazy successful.

Focus On God, Not Gifts

You’re probably writing because God gave you a gift and the action of using that gift towards God is a powerful thing.  Rumi said, “there are many ways to kneel and kiss the ground.” Writing is our offering, it’s an act of obedience and if we try to make it about ourselves, our sense of success is skewed.

  • Are you focusing on your writing or on your God?
  • Are you focusing on the gift or the giver?
  • If you’re not feeling fulfilled, contented or successful, perhaps you’re focusing on the wrong thing.

Sometimes it’s easy to stumble on the gifts God gives us if we take our eyes off him. If you are focused entirely on God the rest will come and no matter where we land, we’ll have success. Remember, a gift used for ourselves is called talent. A gift used for God is called grace and being full of grace is worth more than a million blog hits, worth more than a spot on the New York Best Sellers list and worth more than any amount of money could imagine.

QUESTION: How do you define success as a Christian writer?

* Image credit: gareth1953 Happy New Year 2013 (Creative Commons)

Filed Under: Advice, Blogging, Critique Groups, Habits, Marketing, Miscellaneous, Platform, Productivity, Rejection, Self-Publishing, Writing Tips
About Alicia Yost

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  • http://intentionaltoday.com/ Ngina Otiende

    Great points Alicia. For me it’s about obedience and impacting lives.

  • http://rebootingworship.com/ Jamie Kocur

    For me, writing helps me process and brings me closer to God. So, I suppose that’s success for me.

  • Alicia Yost

    It’s awesome to find our success individually.  In  a way, it’s the ultimate creative freedom because if we are finding our worth through God in our writing, nothing can stop us :)

  • http://www.CharlesSpecht.com/ Charles Specht

    Defining “success” as a writer can be tricky. Defining it for a “Christian writer” is trickier still. 

    Spiritually speaking, I believe that success will be determined most efficiently in eternity. I know that I will have positively affected more people in this world than I will ever realize in this life. I will see the fruit of these labors at the Judgement Seat of Christ when the Lord issues rewards.

    But it is wonderful to see an encouraging comment from someone I’ve never met before who decided to take the time to tell me what my post meant to them. God is so good to us! 

    Thanks for this article, Alicia!

  • Alicia Yost

    Charles, I think that is so true, about never knowing how many people we’ve touched and how much we’ve impacted their lives.  It’s exciting to think of all the seeds we plant with the words we write and how those seeds can still be viable even eons after we’re gone.  It’s such a great gift and responsibility and God is good to us indeed!  Thanks for having me here at Godly Writers!  I love the company.

  • http://sparkvoice.wordpress.com/ DS

    Life impact is critical.  In most cases we never know the full impact we have on one another.  By writing we have the opportunity to connect on a much larger timeline.

  • Bebe

    Thanks for the insight, Alicia. As a newly launched Christian writer, it has helped me to define what should be important for me as I continue in this journey for Him.