There once was a man named Thomas who deeply desired to share stories that would inspire and uplift others. Despite his passion to become a published writer, he often found himself struggling with doubt and wondering if his work would ever bear fruit. Friends who knew him best began calling him, “Doubting Thomas the Unknown Writer.”
One evening, Thomas prayed to God, asking for guidance and assurance. As he prayed, he remembered the words from Ecclesiastes 9:7: “God has already accepted what you do.”
Trusting that his efforts were valued by God, Thomas continued to work diligently on several writing projects. And yet, each time he visited a bookstore or sought to buy a book online, he felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of published works already in the market.
He prayed again, asking God to confirm his calling. The words of Jesus in Matthew 9:38 came to mind: “Pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” Thomas agreed with God that one more worker in the field would be a good thing. He then asked God to bring others to support his efforts.
No support came. His wife saw his writing as a frivolous hobby. Thankful that he’d chosen writing, rather than golf or fishing or, heaven forbid, sailing, she tolerated his times of solitude.
One day, as Thomas was re-writing a kid’s pirate story called “Captain Stinky Foot,” he felt convinced that his works would never see publication. At lunch, while reading his Bible, he stumbled across Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no prophetic vision, the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.”
Had he cast off his vision? Was God calling him to keep at it? He reflected on the vision he’d once believed in so deeply and realized he needed to stay focused on God’s words. After all, that’s what prompted him to write in the first place. Perhaps persistence was the key to greater insight and motivation.
One day, while reading comments on an online reader’s group, someone mentioned the story from Luke 10:35 and how Jesus said: “Look after the man, and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” If Jesus encouraged his followers to spare no expense to reach and help others, who was he to doubt God’s calling on his life? Trusting that God would provide for his needs in due time, he returned to his work with greater enthusiasm.
Soon more words of encouragement came to him during his daily Bible reading. Thomas took comfort in Nehemiah 2:5: “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him build and rebuild.” Surely this was God promising Thomas that doors would open and those in the publishing world would grant him favor in his work.
Still, his words found few readers. He’d been told by others that he needed a newsletter, but no one subscribed. His blog posts had so few visitors he stopped looking at the stats. Worse, all the comments for his blog posts were spam or scams. Tired of deleting each one, he turned off the comment feature.
During a sermon, the preacher spoke of Proverbs 21:1: “The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases.” Thomas decided to trust God to send refreshment in His time. He continued writing but with less regularity.
Clinging to the promise from Romans 8:32 — “God graciously gives us all things.” — Thomas completed his first story. Certain that God would provide whatever was lacking, he began work on his kid’s book proposal.
In his reader group, someone mentioned an upcoming writer’s conference. Thomas felt the words of Nehemiah 2:8 were for him: “The gracious hand of God is on you. He causes those in authority to grant your requests.” Convinced God was telling him “Go!”, Thomas sent in his deposit for an on-campus room.
With renewed faith, Thomas printed out Nehemiah 2:20. Believing that God would bless his work with success, he taped “The God of heaven will give us success.” to the wall beside his desk.
When the time came to pay for the conference and room in full, he took hope in Romans 8:28: “All things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.” He trusted that every experience, good or bad, would contribute to his success.
When his wife asked why he was spending his vacation days at a writer’s conference, he replied, “In Psalm 84:11 it says, ‘The Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.’ I might not always walk uprightly, but I have Jesus and He is my righteousness. I’m trusting that God will give me all the good things I need to make it as a writer.”
In the days leading up to the conference, Psalm 34:9-10 became his life verse: “Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.” Each day he read his Bible, prayed, and listened to worship music. Sometimes he sang along.
He made Matthew 6:33 the signature quote on his emails: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and you will have all that you need.” If there was a way to gain favor with God, to bribe Him, Thomas employed it.
Finally, the big day came. On the drive to the conference Thomas quoted over and over Philippians 4:19: “According to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus God will supply every need you have.” Thomas was sure that God had big things in store for him. Soon he would see the harvest from his work.
The conference did not go well.
All the slots for agents and editors were filled before he could add his name. Desperate, he skipped the meal line at lunch and dinner to sit at their tables, but none showed interest in his work. He attended classes taught by other authors who’d found success. Over and over he heard that platform and marketing were key to landing an agent and book a contract. Thomas didn’t have a platform or money for marketing. The few classes he attended on writing he enjoyed and decided if he ever returned, it would be to improve his craft.
Discouraged, he returned home and took the advice of some he’d met and self-published his kid’s pirate book. At least he’d get it out there for the world to find. “Captain Stinky Foot” only sold a few copies: and those to family and friends. No one, not even those in the writer group who’d received a free copy, wrote a review.
Despite his initial disappointment, Thomas found himself at peace. He’d written a book. He’d sown a seed. Maybe it wasn’t the best book, but at least he’d completed his project. And he’d learned so much along the way. Most of all, he’d been changed in ways he hadn’t realized. Before he’d been worried about sales numbers, reviews, building his platform, and marketing. Now, none of that mattered. He found the simple act of writing was the true blessing.
Without a deadline, agent, or book contract, he wrote only what the Lord laid on his heart. Soon, Thomas began to tell anyone who’d listen that he was co-writing a book with Jesus. His writing improved, and he got more ideas. He purchased all the recordings from the conference and listened to the classes on writing so often that he began to anticipate the instructor’s words. Even without any tangible signs of success, writing was fun. He could do this for the rest of his life.
Then one day his wife arrived home in tears. Leaving his desk, he went to her. She had cancer.
Thomas set aside his writing to care for his wife. The money he’d saved for the next year’s conference went to pay medical bills. He stopped posting on his blog. Lacking any good, positive, uplifting things to say, he avoided social media.
Out of money, he gave up the idea of self-publishing his own books. All that mattered was his wife. God’s promised harvest would have to wait until later — or maybe never.
On her first anniversary of being cancer-free, Thomas and his wife walked the beach together. Her hair was back, curly, and with more gray, but in many ways, she looked younger than before. For a moment, he thought about writing of the relief he felt that she’d survived: of the joy at simply holding his wife’s hand while the surf slapped sand and sun warmed them. But it had been so long since he’d opened his word-processing app, that he decided against it. His life as a writer was in the past.
Back in their motel room, he checked his email and found what at first he thought to be spam. The director of a homeschool conference wanted to include Thomas as part of their faculty. She had purchased a copy of his self-published book and wondered if he would teach on how pirates of old and gangs of today shared similar backgrounds: orphaned kids, boys growing up without a dad, crime seeming to be the only way out of poverty. Thomas responded that he would accept the offer but only if his wife could accompany him at no charge.
Soon after, Thomas’s books started selling. Not in the thousands as he’d once hoped, but a few each month. Sometimes he’d get letters from kids who didn’t have a father. Thomas became their pen-pall. The harvest that God had promised looked different than he imagined but, his faith and perseverance paid off.
He’d written a book. He was a writer. And a few kids liked what he had to say.
For “Doubting Thomas the Unknown Writer” that was success enough.
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