Day 3: Make the most of your words.

Modern culture is obsessed with time management, and for good reason. There are a dizzying number of options and distractions in the digital age. However, when we try to do everything, we do nothing well.

Scripture speaks to the need for focus: to determine what actions and attitudes are central in your life. Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

What does wise living一making the most of every opportunity一mean for writers today?

First, it means that stewarding your literary gifts is a choice, not a default. Like an ocean current, which effortlessly drags you down the shoreline, our culture silently pulls us away from our calling into trivial things. It’s also common to feel shackled by the urgent responsibilities of life: kids, work, aging parents, and packed schedules. But if you truly want to cultivate your writing gift, recognize it won’t happen organically. To say yes to this calling, you will undoubtedly have to say no to other things. To pursue your writing at the expense of other possible commitments may sound selfish, but actually, if God has called you to write, focusing on your work is a primary way to serve and bless others.

Secondly, to make the most out of every opportunity (Eph. 5:16), consider the people in your life who can speak into your writing, through encouragement and feedback. Writers often feel like solitary creatures, and while there’s a time for non-distracted, deep work, all good writing undergoes a stage of community input.

What does this input look like? If you’re writing a book or blog, email it to a few trusted friends and ask for their opinion. Ask others to pray over your work一that God would give you the right words.

Lastly, making the most out of every opportunity means addressing the longings of our cultural moment. In every age, people hunger for truth, hope, and significance. They want to know they matter. They’re reeling from pain and disappointment, looking to make sense of things. As writers who follow Jesus, this is an incredible opportunity to present the beauty of Jesus to a hurting world.

This doesn’t mean your writing will explicitly explain the gospel (although it might). Rather, it means endlessly putting out feelers to determine what people actually care about. What questions are they asking? What hurts are they healing from? What sources do they turn to for meaning? No matter what you’re writing一fiction or nonfiction一aim your words at those felt needs.

Ask yourself: How can you steward your words in a way that makes the most out of every opportunity?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for creating me with a gift and passion for writing. I want to use this gift for your glory and the good of others. You promise to give me wisdom when I ask (James 1:5), so please help me carve out a regular time to write. When it comes to discipline, sometimes my spirit is willing but my flesh is weak, so please give me strength to pursue this calling. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14). Every word I write is for your glory. In Jesus’s name, Amen.