Strike the Rock and Let Him Flow
"Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on."
~ Louis L'Amour
This statement resonates within me. It seems pretty simple really. However, if you've ever tried to sit down and write something meaningful or impactful you know it's not always as easy as flipping a switch. Sometimes we try to turn on the faucet and nothing comes out! The pipes are frozen. Or there may be a trickle coming out, but not the heavy flow of passion and words that we were looking for. And maybe, just maybe, we forgot to pay the bill and we were shut off.
I can't speak for anyone but myself. However, this is a conversation I've had with fellow writers on many occasion. We have the heart. We have the desire. We may even have an idea. But there's no flow. For me, I've found that's because I haven't given enough time to the fount from which my words flow~the Word of God. It's a fount that never runs dry.
James 1:17 tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from our Father in heaven. The ability to write well is a gift. It is a talent, an art form. We do not create this gift (nor any others) within ourselves. We are born with an ability. From there it is our responsibility to cultivate that gift. To sow into it and allow the Lord to reap the harvest. And it is our duty to use these gifts to glorify the One who granted them to us to begin with.
In Matthew 25 the master portrayed in the parable is pleased with the servants who took their talents and multiplied them. They used them, worked them, to bring honor to their master. The servant who was given only one talent did not. Instead he took his and he fearfully hid it away. He didn't use it. He didn't plant it and cultivate it. He didn't invest it. He only hid it.
When his master found this out he was angry with the servant. The servant was called wicked and lazy. His talent was stripped from him and he was deemed worthless by his master. He was thrown into darkness.
The Lord gives us the abilities He does for us to use them to serve and build up His kingdom. Whether it is the ability to sing, dance, play an instrument. Whether you can preach, teach, and lead others. Or if you can write, illustrate, paint, or compose. Maybe your talent is working with children. Or serving the elderly. I could go on and on, but I won't. You get the idea. I'm focusing on the writer's in this article.
Going back to our quote from Louis L'Amour, I have found that when I turn on the faucet and the flow of water is not where it should be that it's because I'm lacking a visit to that fountain. My water can run forth if I'm not drinking of the fountain of life...the well that never runs dry. Jesus. He is the Word made flesh and from that Word is where my words flow forth. I am a dry desert land without inspiration from the One who has given me my talent. After all, it's really His talent that He has entrusted to me anyway.
This year I found myself drowning in the fountain of the Word. And as the Word rushed through me, words flowed out of me at lightening speed. The Lord had given me an assignment and I could not cut off that water supply if I had wanted to. But it took a leap of faith to put pen to paper...fingertips to keys. It took courage to boldly proclaim to the world that I was an adulteress after years of hiding my old sins in the back of the closet.
As I sought the face of Jesus and I drew into His Word, the fount poured into me. He was calling me to turn on the faucet and allow His water to flow. He wanted to cleanse me. He wanted to reach others and to sustain them with hope and promise. He wanted to carry my testimony unto the nations to proclaim His glory. He wanted His water to flow through me in order to cleanse others with my testimony. But I was afraid.
For months I kept myself locked up tight. I wouldn't write anything at all, for fear that once I did He would take over and His words would manifest instead of my own. I built a dam. But a man-made dam can only hold so long against the power of God's mighty flow.
When I read the quote above Exodus 17 was brought to my remembrance. The Israelites had been wandering around in the desert wilderness, seeking the Promised Land. They were complaining to the point that they were badmouthing God and turning on Moses. They were accusing their rescuer of drawing them out of slavery only to let them die. They thought it would have been better to stay slaves in Egypt than to die in the wilderness (of their own making).
Their complaints sounded a lot like mine as the Lord was trying to set me free from the prison cell I had kept myself locked in for nearly a decade. One I had created for myself. I thought that the cell had been better than the place He had led me to. I didn't want anything to change. Not even when I knew that what awaited me in the Promised Land was going to be better than I could have ever imagined. Still, I doubted God. In fear, I tried to hide my talent instead of using it to bring Him glory and to multiply His kingdom.
He was merciful and patient with me. And as I hit my breaking point, His Spirit moved on me as He did for the Israelites:
"'I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.' So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on." Exodus 17:6
God instructed Moses to take his staff (his sign of authority-leading the people of Israel was Moses's gift. It was what he had been called to do; a purpose he had been preserved from birth to fulfill) and to strike the rock. When Moses did as he was told to do, he was not left looking foolish or feeling disappointed. When we obey God's Word, He will fulfill His promises to us.
A rock seems an awfully unlikely faucet to find. However, God will use the most likely sources to plug us into His fountains of creativity and to inspire us to fulfill His purposes. This labor of mine this year was not as easy as turning on the kitchen sink and filling up a glass with water. It wasn't as easy as turning on my shower and stepping in to get clean. This was a take your staff (your authority in Me, your gift and talent and ability, your faith in your Creator) and hit that rock kind of labor.
But my God is the same yesterday (with the Israelites), today, and forevermore (Hebrews 13:8). And when I stopped complaining and instead obeyed Him, He caused His fountain of life to pour over me and through me and completed a work He began many years ago.
What faucet has God been telling you to turn on? What dam have you built up out of fear of the unknown? What cell have you locked yourself into? What wilderness are you wasting precious time in instead of entering the Promised Land God is offering you? What rock do you need to strike?
I want to encourage you to take a chance on God and see what happens next. I can assure you, if you are visiting the fount of His Word, you won't be disappointed when you turn that faucet on and allow Him to flow through you. And you won't be the only one who is touched by the waters of life that flow from Him. Someone in your life is counting on you to bring them that glass of water in their parched, and weary land. Strike the rock and let the words flow!
~ Louis L'Amour
This statement resonates within me. It seems pretty simple really. However, if you've ever tried to sit down and write something meaningful or impactful you know it's not always as easy as flipping a switch. Sometimes we try to turn on the faucet and nothing comes out! The pipes are frozen. Or there may be a trickle coming out, but not the heavy flow of passion and words that we were looking for. And maybe, just maybe, we forgot to pay the bill and we were shut off.
I can't speak for anyone but myself. However, this is a conversation I've had with fellow writers on many occasion. We have the heart. We have the desire. We may even have an idea. But there's no flow. For me, I've found that's because I haven't given enough time to the fount from which my words flow~the Word of God. It's a fount that never runs dry.
James 1:17 tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from our Father in heaven. The ability to write well is a gift. It is a talent, an art form. We do not create this gift (nor any others) within ourselves. We are born with an ability. From there it is our responsibility to cultivate that gift. To sow into it and allow the Lord to reap the harvest. And it is our duty to use these gifts to glorify the One who granted them to us to begin with.
In Matthew 25 the master portrayed in the parable is pleased with the servants who took their talents and multiplied them. They used them, worked them, to bring honor to their master. The servant who was given only one talent did not. Instead he took his and he fearfully hid it away. He didn't use it. He didn't plant it and cultivate it. He didn't invest it. He only hid it.
When his master found this out he was angry with the servant. The servant was called wicked and lazy. His talent was stripped from him and he was deemed worthless by his master. He was thrown into darkness.
The Lord gives us the abilities He does for us to use them to serve and build up His kingdom. Whether it is the ability to sing, dance, play an instrument. Whether you can preach, teach, and lead others. Or if you can write, illustrate, paint, or compose. Maybe your talent is working with children. Or serving the elderly. I could go on and on, but I won't. You get the idea. I'm focusing on the writer's in this article.
Going back to our quote from Louis L'Amour, I have found that when I turn on the faucet and the flow of water is not where it should be that it's because I'm lacking a visit to that fountain. My water can run forth if I'm not drinking of the fountain of life...the well that never runs dry. Jesus. He is the Word made flesh and from that Word is where my words flow forth. I am a dry desert land without inspiration from the One who has given me my talent. After all, it's really His talent that He has entrusted to me anyway.
This year I found myself drowning in the fountain of the Word. And as the Word rushed through me, words flowed out of me at lightening speed. The Lord had given me an assignment and I could not cut off that water supply if I had wanted to. But it took a leap of faith to put pen to paper...fingertips to keys. It took courage to boldly proclaim to the world that I was an adulteress after years of hiding my old sins in the back of the closet.
As I sought the face of Jesus and I drew into His Word, the fount poured into me. He was calling me to turn on the faucet and allow His water to flow. He wanted to cleanse me. He wanted to reach others and to sustain them with hope and promise. He wanted to carry my testimony unto the nations to proclaim His glory. He wanted His water to flow through me in order to cleanse others with my testimony. But I was afraid.
For months I kept myself locked up tight. I wouldn't write anything at all, for fear that once I did He would take over and His words would manifest instead of my own. I built a dam. But a man-made dam can only hold so long against the power of God's mighty flow.
When I read the quote above Exodus 17 was brought to my remembrance. The Israelites had been wandering around in the desert wilderness, seeking the Promised Land. They were complaining to the point that they were badmouthing God and turning on Moses. They were accusing their rescuer of drawing them out of slavery only to let them die. They thought it would have been better to stay slaves in Egypt than to die in the wilderness (of their own making).
Their complaints sounded a lot like mine as the Lord was trying to set me free from the prison cell I had kept myself locked in for nearly a decade. One I had created for myself. I thought that the cell had been better than the place He had led me to. I didn't want anything to change. Not even when I knew that what awaited me in the Promised Land was going to be better than I could have ever imagined. Still, I doubted God. In fear, I tried to hide my talent instead of using it to bring Him glory and to multiply His kingdom.
He was merciful and patient with me. And as I hit my breaking point, His Spirit moved on me as He did for the Israelites:
"'I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.' So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on." Exodus 17:6
God instructed Moses to take his staff (his sign of authority-leading the people of Israel was Moses's gift. It was what he had been called to do; a purpose he had been preserved from birth to fulfill) and to strike the rock. When Moses did as he was told to do, he was not left looking foolish or feeling disappointed. When we obey God's Word, He will fulfill His promises to us.
A rock seems an awfully unlikely faucet to find. However, God will use the most likely sources to plug us into His fountains of creativity and to inspire us to fulfill His purposes. This labor of mine this year was not as easy as turning on the kitchen sink and filling up a glass with water. It wasn't as easy as turning on my shower and stepping in to get clean. This was a take your staff (your authority in Me, your gift and talent and ability, your faith in your Creator) and hit that rock kind of labor.
But my God is the same yesterday (with the Israelites), today, and forevermore (Hebrews 13:8). And when I stopped complaining and instead obeyed Him, He caused His fountain of life to pour over me and through me and completed a work He began many years ago.
What faucet has God been telling you to turn on? What dam have you built up out of fear of the unknown? What cell have you locked yourself into? What wilderness are you wasting precious time in instead of entering the Promised Land God is offering you? What rock do you need to strike?
I want to encourage you to take a chance on God and see what happens next. I can assure you, if you are visiting the fount of His Word, you won't be disappointed when you turn that faucet on and allow Him to flow through you. And you won't be the only one who is touched by the waters of life that flow from Him. Someone in your life is counting on you to bring them that glass of water in their parched, and weary land. Strike the rock and let the words flow!
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