by Jennifer Greene-Sullivan
Oh, the writer’s plight. I sat down this morning to decide what I would work on today, and instead of clarity, I found a trail of unfinished projects waiting patiently for my attention. Each one carries its own calling, its own season, its own measure of obedience, yet none of them fit neatly into the kind of schedule I once tried to keep. The stack is both a testimony and a temptation — evidence of the work the Lord has given me and a reminder that I cannot complete any of it in my own strength.
2 Corinthians 3:5 (ESV)
“Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.”
This unfinished project made me laugh out loud. Day One of Week One of this yet to be completed devotional greets me with the deeply profound and highly theological note: “Blah blah commentary.” There it is in plain type, a snapshot of a day when I clearly had no idea where the Lord was leading and refused to force words onto a page that needed to be breathed on by the Spirit. Even in my uncertainty, I see His grace because the page waited instead of being filled with something written in my own effort.
Writing with the Holy Spirit is my favorite partnership, but it does not bend easily to my timelines. He is a teacher, not a taskmaster, and He leads in ways that require both discipline and surrender. I can outline, plan, and prepare my heart, yet unless He gives the increase, the words remain only words. “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
So this morning, I am not beginning with a word count or a checklist. I am beginning with prayer. I am asking for the fortitude to sit at the desk, for the discipline to remain when the page is slow to open, and for the sensitivity to follow when the Spirit shifts the direction entirely. “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground” (Psalm 143:10).
Because the truth is that every unfinished project is not a failure — it is an invitation. Each unfinished project presents an invitation to return, to listen, to continue in obedience rather than in pressure. I have not abandoned the pages; they are simply waiting for the breath of God.
Prayer
Lord, You are the Author of every word You have called me to write. Give me the discipline to show up and the humility to wait for Your leading. Strengthen my mind for the work, steady my heart against distraction, and let my writing always be an offering that brings You glory. Order my time, guide my focus, and teach me to move at the pace of Your Spirit and not my own striving. In the name of Jesus, Amen.
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