What’s it like to write a book? How does one become a writer? Right after college I started a regular newsletter to friends and family. However, I didn’t try writing a book until 2003. My first attempt was for a science fiction story that didn’t get very far. Years later, when the draft of my first book, Seeking the Lord, was finished in 2017, I could think of myself as a writer. But I didn’t publish the book till 2020! What happened?
How did I get the book topic?
What does it mean to search for God? What are these terms “seek the Lord”, “come to Jesus”, or “find God”? My interest in this topic was sparked on Sunday March 23, 2013 after hearing two sermons on the phrase “seek the Lord”. While visiting my childhood church, I heard Pastor E.T. Knight preach from 2 Chronicles 20:2-4 where King Jehoshaphat “set himself to seek the Lord” and was delivered from a time of trouble. That same day, driving home I heard Dr. J.V. McGee’s Thru the Bible radio broadcast discussing how Ezra “prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord” in Ezra 7:10. Both messages were powerful and motivating, but I wanted to know more, and decided to research the topic for my morning devotions.
Research
I began by looking in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible to find the definition of the Hebrew word that is translated “seek” in the Old Testament of our English Bible. I found the expected definition of searching but also saw that word can mean to follow. There was a similar find for the Greek word translated “seek” in the New Testament. One meaning was to seek (which had non-obvious implications) and the other was to desire.
I wasn’t satisfied with just knowing the interesting definitions, I needed to know how these were used in the Bible and what the application was for me. The study was so inspiring, I decided to take serious notes so I could share it. I looked for examples of how people sought in the Bible and realized a book was waiting to be written and shared!
I wrote about something that really interested me and that I thought would help others. So the work of research and writing was fun and fulfilling. I imagine that’s how most authors feel when writing about something they really like and that’s why we used the term “inspired” when talking about our works. (Of course this is a different “inspired” from the biblical writers who literally heard from God, so don’t be confused.) Yet, at some point authors hit road blocks or at least bumps in the road. What was it for me? Find out next time.