I’d like to write an article,
Tell of all the things I know,
Help the dumb to understand,
And younger ones to grow.
With all the knowledge I possess,
There’s still so much I lack.
Oh, how knowledge overwhelms.
It’s work to sort the facts.
This article needs something.
A hook to gain attention?
Some scholarly devotion?
Yes, and spiritual dimension.
Do I plan and write an outline?
By the seat of my pants fly?
Writer friends have set examples,
Using methods I should try.
Know the reader. Answer questions.
Be concise and relevant.
Give them something to remember.
Meet their needs. Be eloquent.
There’s a template you must follow.
Academia will scoff.
They will joke of all your rhyming.
At the least, they’ll brush you off.
For your words to be effective
And be seen in online search,
You should think about a title
That will catch all the unchurched.
Write of love and things of beauty.
Write with truth and gentleness.
Don’t get preachy or sound judgy.
Don’t give works an emphasis.
Bring your reader to conclusions
That will profit them and you.
Use your writer’s voice with passion.
Clearly state your point of view.
As I sit with open Bible
Inspiration does not come
For my article or writing,
Or for things I’ve left undone.
Dirty dishes, and there’s packing
For an overnight event.
And that stain upon the carpet.
Now, an hour has been spent.
I just read from Jeremiah,
Chapter thirty-three, verse three.
“Call to me and I will answer.”
And I think … this is the key!
So I ponder, and it happened
That an old hymn came to mind.
Didn’t need to check a hymnal.
Stored in memory, this I find.
“Ask ye what great thing I know
That delights and stirs me so.
What the high reward I win?
Whose the name I glory in?
Jesus Christ the crucified.”
The lyrics go on,
But my heart is full.
The music plays in my head,
As the Spirit pulls.
“Lord,” I say. “What of this article?
Give me a sentence, or even a word.”
I close my eyes, take a breath,
And this is what I heard.
“That article on knowledge?
The one on things you know?
To help the dumb to understand,
And younger ones to grow?
Sometimes I draw you to a place
And wait for acquiescence.
My purpose in distraction
Is to lead you into presence.”
This conversation left me weak,
But energized and ready.
What seems to contradict and stress,
Instead, it keeps me steady.
Relief in what I do not know,
Assurance from the One,
Whose comprehension is enough,
Whose care can’t be undone.
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3, CSB.)
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