Recently, I’ve been a little stuck. In a metaphorical pit with a side of writer’s block.

I haven’t had words to write, blogs to post, encouragement to share. 

I think in part because life has just been hard lately. (Like for the past 10 years lately.) 

I’m grateful for the pockets of joy and moments of freedom, but there is a heaviness that accompanies the heartbreak we’ve endured over the last decade.

I started Jess Connolly’s What Comes Next last month and even gave up on that, even though it was so incredibly timely. 

I’m behind on my family’s daily Bible reading plan. 

And I’m exhausted. 

A couple days ago, I started the devotional again. Started reading my Bible again. And the urgency to write again begin to stir. 

Because if I’m exhausted and discouraged, maybe you are too. And isn’t that the whole point of this thing anyway? 

If I needed more convincing, I can thank Jess. The chapter I read today, “Let’s Enter Back In”, gave me clarity and hope. She wrote, “My break from preaching was unintentional. And I think we all have things—callings, dreams, desires, giftings, roles, rhythms, and responsibilities—that we need to get back to when the time is right.”

My break from writing was unintentional. And there’s a time that is right to get back to it. 

I hate that shame tries to take over when discipline fails me. Because I’m achievement-driven and goal-oriented, missing a week can quickly turn into missing a month. Because I failed, and I tend to wallow in it. And once I’m out of the habit of writing, it’s easier to stay there. 

As I read Jess’s words today, I felt this theme in my heart: write what you know. There is, after all, nothing new under the sun. And so, I want to simply share one of my favorite passages in Scripture: 2 Samuel 22:17-20 (also Psalm 18:16-19). 

“He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because he delighted in me.”

God doesn’t rescue us in frustration or exasperation; He rescues us because He delights in us. We are not an inconvenience. We are not a burden. We are loved.

I’m realizing that while the rescue isn’t always immediate, it is intentional. Sometimes it’s when we’re ready. Sometimes there are things to learn in the darkness. 

But He is always present, the One who supports, who never leaves or forsakes us. 

He reaches down and takes hold of us, lifting us out of the pit and bringing us out into a spacious place at just the right time. With joy and delight.