How can you know you're called to write?

How can you know God’s calling you to be a writer? It's a question all of us have asked ourselves. If you knew you were called, then you'd stick through the tough times a lot easier, right? You'd press on and pursue your dreams knowing you were on the right track.

I remember as a teen I begged God to show me what I was supposed to do with my life. I prayed and yearned to know. Right then. But if I had looked closely, I would’ve seen He was already leading and guiding me through my childhood dreams. I loved to read as a kid. One of my favorite activities was visiting the library, and I’d come home with bags full of books. I loved writing little stories about animals. My sister and I started a newspaper/magazine we peddled around the neighborhood for fifty cents.

When I was fifteen I started writing a story about two sisters. I had no idea that story would eventually become my first published novel, Thicker than Blood. Those first pages were horrible, but I kept at it because it was something I couldn’t not do. That’s another way to recognize a God-given dream. Does it burn within you? I asked Jerry B. Jenkins once how beginning writers could know they were called to write, and he said if you can’t not write you may be called to write.

God puts desires and dreams in our hearts at an early age to guide us into our calling. And why wouldn’t He? Doesn’t it make sense He’d plant ideas in our hearts as children? As Psalms 139 says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” It’s only as we get older that those dreams begin to fade due to the distractions and pressures of life. Take time and look back. Remember what you dreamed about as a kid. Maybe you’ll discover God’s been calling you for longer than you think. Often God will give us natural inclinations as children that coincide with our calling as adults. Have you always had a fascination with stories, books or writing? Chances are God’s put that in your heart.

Which isn't to say you always have to know what you're supposed to do as a kid. I certainly didn't. And I still have doubts. But it's not really even about skill. My early writings were nothing to shake a stick at. And even now my rough drafts can come out a mess most times. The point is, you can always develop skills, but you can’t fabricate a calling.

Know today that God can call you to be a writer as much as he can call a preacher to preach. Words are powerful. Think about this---God could’ve imparted his Word to us in many ways. He could’ve branded it on our minds or invented CDs sooner. But what did He choose? He wrote His words down in a book. How many lives have been changed by that one Book alone?