Does a blank page fill you with excitement or dread? Even when we view our writing as a calling, we can still question whether the work truly matters. The spark that drew us to the page sometimes fizzles out when the words don’t flow like we expected them to.
If writing ever feels harder than it should be, or if you’ve lost the joy you once had when you put a pen to paper, this is for you.
From Pizza Kiosk to Mission Field: A New Perspective
Each four-hour shift for my first job at a pizza kiosk felt like a bleak eternity. After weeks of dragging myself through my duties, a customer pulled me aside to thank me for my bright smile. She said I had “made her day”. How I achieved that is still a mystery to me three decades later, but her comment actually changed my life. That day, I realized that even the most mundane work can make a difference.
I wanted the difference I made to matter for eternity. I wanted my work to bring glory to God (Colossians 3:17). So, from that day on, I prayed on my way to each shift that God would use me to bring “salt and light” into my small corner of the world (Matthew 5:13–16). For four hours each weeknight, I anticipated what God might do as I grated mozzarella, chopped onions, and sliced mushrooms. And daily, God provided endless opportunities to encourage others, bless my boss, and serve the Lord through my work. I considered myself a missionary, not a pizza maker. Surprisingly, that menial job became exciting to me.
That experience laid the foundation for a lifetime adventure of discovering ways to glorify God in my work (1 Corinthians 10:31). Whether it involves laundry or lawn-mowing, serving customers or schooling kids, running errands or writing, I can work with joy and find it fulfilling when I view it as an act of worship.
3 Ways to Turn Your Writing Into Worship
When writing is a struggle, a new perspective can restore our motivation and renew our sense of purpose. As Christian writers, we can think of ourselves as scribes, stewards, and servants.
The Scribe: Preserving God’s Truth
Consider the scribes of old. Historically, they were responsible for copying and preserving important documents, including sacred texts. In biblical times, Jewish scribes were both record-keepers and interpreters of the Law. (See Jeremiah 36 for an inspiring example.) Today, Christian writers are like modern scribes, recording and conveying truth. Just as ancient scribes carefully preserved God’s Word, we must be faithful to write the message God gives to us.
Recognizing the unique message God has equipped you to write can renew your sense of purpose. Reflect on your personal experiences and insights. What biblical truths are you uniquely equipped to communicate and preserve?
The Steward: Managing God’s Gift
Ultimately, all that we have belongs to God (1 Corinthians 4:7). The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30) illustrates that we are stewards, responsible for managing what God has entrusted to us, including our time, talent, and “treasure” (or resources). If we believe God has entrusted us with a message to share, if our writing is a gift from God, we must consider what faithful stewardship of our words involves.
How can you prioritize writing alongside your other responsibilities? Maybe you need to schedule dedicated writing time—actually create an appointment on the calendar—to make it happen. Or perhaps it’s time to invest in tools, education, and community to improve your writing skills. Pray about it and ask God what faithful stewardship looks like in this season.
The Servant: Offering Words to God
As Christians, we’re called to lives of service—serving God and serving others (Mark 10:45). When we write as an act of faithful stewardship, we write to serve God. Similarly, when we write in response to God’s grace in our lives, our writing becomes an act of worship instead of a burdensome task.
Writing with a servant’s heart spurs us to become better writers, to practice and develop more effective communication skills, and to discover the best ways to connect with our readers (e.g., writing in different formats or on different platforms). When we write with a heart to serve, we can focus on impact instead of personal gain, trusting God to fulfill his purposes for our words, even when we don’t see immediate results.
Embrace Your Roles as a Writer
My pizza job became a joy to me, not because the work changed, but because my perspective did. I had a different purpose—I started showing up for God’s glory, rather than my own comfort. The same can happen for us as we pursue the hard work of writing, approaching it as a scribe with a message, the steward of a gift, and a servant offering worship.
What practical steps can you take to more fully embrace your roles as a scribe, steward, and servant this month?
Even when your words don’t flow easily, even when it’s hard to make time for it, even when it feels fruitless, keep writing. Write as an act of worship—offering your words to God—and trust that even the simplest sentence, written in faith and obedience, can glorify God and matter for eternity.
This article originally appeared as When writing feels like a chore… on my Wield The Word Substack in June 2025.
