Oct 8, 2010
Do You Fear Having an Empty Cup
Writers live in fear of sitting down one day and having nothing to write. There have been seasons in which I’ve sat down to write my daily blog post and struggled with a howling vacancy.
Since this is a theology blog, I am especially fearful of having nothing much to share about God. If there’s nothing doing, then I have to face two startling truths:
1. I have not been resting with God, waiting on God, or doing anything else much with God lately.
2. I need to post something honest and true rather than posting something just to have “fresh content.”
Among other benefits, blogging has forced me to face my seasons of spiritual emptiness and struggle. When I need to “pour out” posts on a regular basis, I have a continual reminder to stay on track with God. If not, I risk being a fraud.
I think this is why serving others is so important in Christianity. Serving others, whether by writing, hospitality, prayer, or whatever else. Service forces us to depend on God’s resources. If we don’t depend on God filling us up, we’ll become exhausted as we scrape the dregs from our own lives.
Sometimes I try to pour something from God into the life of someone else and come up empty. That is what I fear in life. I fear being empty of God’s influence, having only my own wisdom and experience to share.
As you enter a weekend that will hopefully have a fair share of rest and restoration, may your cup spill over with God’s presence. And as you begin next week, I pray that you’ll be able to share God’s blessings with at least one other person. That, after all, is why we’re here.
Great post. I’m all about #2 on your list. I had a blog a few years ago that had heavy traffic but I felt a pressure to keep creating “fresh content” even if I hated it. Now, I write what I feel, and if I feel nothing don’t write. God’s usually given me things to write for the blog, though.
Nice. I’ve spent a lot of time in that “dry” place lately. I’ve basically stopped blogging, and my manuscript has been stuck on hold at 40k words for 6 months.
I love to write, probably more than most things. I get so pissed off because I haven’t wanted to do the thing that I love so much, due to my lack of fresh revelation and relation with God.
Thanks for posting this one, dude. I needed it.
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Thanks Jason. Yeah, I’ve had to give up writing what I thought I “should” write and start to figure out what it is that I really care about. It’s a tough but good process. I’m glad that God has provided for your writing as you’ve learned to depend on him.
Aaron, I feel your pain. Hang in there. Keep writing in notebooks, on napkins, or wherever you can. As you write you may find God speaking something. Then again, you may send it off to the landfill where a lot of my own writing has ended up! It’s not a pretty process, but thanks for fighting the good fight. I believe God can get you there.
Pastors share this fear and obstacle. I’ve heard it often from colleagues, “the only time a study the scripture is when I prepare to preach.”
When our profession involves God-talk it’s easy to go search for God-words instead of searching for God. I appreciate the posture of Bill Johnson, pastor of Bethel church in Redding, CA., “I never study the Word in order to teach others. I study the Word in order to be fed–and then I share my food with others.”
Thanks Ed! Really appreciate your encouragement.