Fit for purpose? by Nicki Copeland

As I write, we’ve been without a television for two weeks. The old one broke down after five or six years with us (and a good few years in someone else’s living room before that). When the new one arrived, my husband and I lacked the engineering degree we apparently needed to get it going. And our techie son is away working for the week. So the beautiful new TV is sitting on its stand, looking lovely, but currently totally unfit for purpose.

This makes me think about what it means to be ‘fit for purpose’ in our writing. For what purpose do we write? What do we hope to achieve through our writing? Perhaps that partly depends on the nature of what we write.

My most recent writing project, so to speak, is my sermon for this coming Sunday. Whenever I preach I’m very aware of the huge responsibility that it is to teach God’s children (see James 3:1), and it isn’t one I take lightly. Am I fit for this purpose? Am I worthy to teach, whether through preaching or writing?

Frankly, I don’t feel as though I am, yet I know that God has called me to this ministry, and I also know that where he calls, he equips.

As writers, I’m sure many, if not all, of us are familiar with ‘imposter syndrome’. I certainly am! Yet God has clearly put something within us that drives us to write. We have a message to share – whether it’s a story to tell, biblical truths to impart, commentary on current events or some other message. And, as I said, where God calls, he equips. He is the one who makes us ‘fit for purpose’.

I’m currently pondering my next writing project, and feeling, to be honest, more than a little bit daunted by it. It’s something that’s been on my heart for a while now, but for various reasons I haven’t properly been able to get started. Now I feel that God is saying to me that it’s time to get going, and it feels like a high mountain to climb. But how many times have I said to others that we mustn’t focus on the height of the mountain, but just on the next step we need to take? I so need to take my own advice here…

So whatever stage you’re at with your current WIP, remember that where God calls, he equips. Focus on the next step, take one step at a time, and know that there are others walking the same steps with you, trusting that God will make us fit for the purpose He calls us to.

And the TV? I’ve missed it, but it’s been wonderful to have the opportunity to catch up on some reading instead!

Nicki Copeland is a freelance writer, speaker, copy editor and proofreader – and loves anything to do with words. She is the author of Losing the Fig Leaf and Less than Ordinary? When she has the luxury of some free time, she can invariably be found with a book in one hand and some chocolate in the other.