by Julie Zine Coleman @JulieZColeman

When you felt God was calling you to write, you probably were invigorated. You were excited to be hearing specific direction from Him. You felt great purpose as you began the journey to publication.

But then…silence. We’ve all been there…even the most seasoned and successful of writers.

I felt that call after teaching in the elementary classroom for 20 years. I was thrilled. After interviewing a well-known author for my first manuscript, she asked how often I was speaking at events. A couple of times a year, I admitted. She advised, “When you publish, you will be speaking a lot more. So get ready.”

I wasn’t sure how I would accomplish such a thing. When I returned home, I told my husband about the conversation. “She said to get ready,” I said.

“What can you do to get ready?” he asked. I shyly told him I would love to go to seminary. “Then do it,” he firmly advised.

That first manuscript I’d sent to that author was never published. I needed time to grow in my relationship with the Lord. Time to study His Word. Time to learn about ministering to people God put in my path. Time to get the depth I needed to write effectively. It would be eight years before I held my first published book in my hands. And I needed every minute of those long eight years.

Paul wrote, “When the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son…so that He might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters” (Galatians 4:4-5 NASB). What was the fullness of time? The perfect moment.

God had given many promises to His people throughout the Old Testament. But after the last prophet penned God’s plans for the future, the people stopped hearing from Him. No more prophets to light the way and feed their hope. Nothing but silence. Four hundred years of silence.

But even though they couldn’t see it, God was at work in His people. Various empires swept over the land, exerting their influence on Jewish culture. Many people groups became dissatisfied with their pagan religions. The entire region became proficient in Greek, even to the point of translating Scripture out of Hebrew into that common language. Roads were built, improving the ability to travel within the Roman Empire. Things were falling into place for a movement that would quickly spread throughout the world.

The long wait had its toll on the faith of God’s people. So many things that had seemed to indicate their lives might be changing for the better turned to worms in the end. Four hundred years of disappointment. The only thing left to hope in was the promised Messiah to come and set them free from oppression. They pinned all their hope on Him.

Now they were ready to receive Him. The fullness of time had come. And Jesus was born, come to die for the world. The world would never be the same.

God asks us to wait, too. He has work to accomplish in us. It will take time. But in the end, every moment of the wait will be worth it. We, too, need to get ready. Study His Word. Give our best effort to every writing opportunity He sends along. Be open to the Spirit’s leading as He brings us through uncharted territory. He is using the wait to bring us to maturity. He is at work in us every single day. And will be faithful to complete what He started.

The wait will be worth it. I’m so glad my first manuscript never saw the light of day. What I ended up publishing was so much better than anything I could have produced when I first received the call. Lean into the wait. Stay open to the Spirit. Be obedient to what He is calling you to in the here and now. Align your heart with His. Get ready.

He has His purposes and plans for you. Not only for right now, but with the future ultimately in mind. He is waiting for the perfect moment. In the fullness of time.

Julie Zine Coleman is an award-winning author, speaker, and member of the Pastoral Team at New Hope Chapel. She is the managing editor for the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association’s devotional website, Arise Daily. Julie holds a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies and has authored four books including Unexpected Love: God’s Heart Revealed through Jesus’ Conversations with Women and On Purpose: Understanding God’s Freedom for Women through Scripture, which was named The Golden Scrolls Book of the Year as well as The Selah Awards’ Director’s Choice. Julie and her husband have four grown children, six grandchildren, and one crazy Golden Retriever puppy.