Is Your Writing Pleasing to God?

Finding Freedom in the True Source of "Good Work"

I received a message last week that touched on something I believe many of us wrestle with as Christian writers.

A subscriber had poured her heart into writing a book—an impressive undertaking for anyone.

Now that it was finished, she found herself paralyzed by an unexpected question: Is this book pleasing to God?

Despite all her effort and good intentions, she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that maybe her work still wasn't "good enough" for God.

I wonder if you've felt this too.

Maybe you've finished a blog post and hesitated before hitting publish, wondering if it truly honors the Lord.

Or perhaps you've abandoned writing projects midway, convinced they weren't “spiritual” enough or impactful enough to be worth continuing.

I’ve experience this first-hand, many times.

This question—"Is my writing pleasing to God?"—undoubtedly comes from an earnest desire to create something that brings glory to our Creator.

But it also reveals something deeper about how we approach our calling as writers.

Because underlying the question, in many cases, is the assumption that the value of our writing depends primarily on our own effort, skill, or spiritual maturity.

A Fresh Look at "Pleasing God"

When we talk about what it means to please God, the most obvious Biblical reference may be Colossians 1, where Paul talks about "walking in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him."

This passage offers us incredible insight into what actually makes our work pleasing to God.

If we back up to the previous verse, we discover that walking in a manner worthy of the Lord is the result of "being filled with the knowledge of God's will in spiritual wisdom and understanding."

And as we read on, Paul unpacks what this looks like:

1. Knowing God more deeply

2. Being strengthened with His power

3. Recognizing we've been qualified by Him

4. Bearing fruit as a result

The pattern is simple:

Any work that is truly pleasing to God, including writing, flows from connection to Him—not from striving, not from talent, not even from our best intentions.

The Freedom of Source vs. Outcome

This realization offers tremendous freedom for Christian writers.

The question shifts from "Is my writing good enough for God?" to "Am I allowing God's life to flow through me?"

It's no longer about evaluating the finished product against some imagined standard of "Christian excellence." It's about the Source from which our writing flows.

As Paul reminds us elsewhere, "it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose" (Philippians 2:13).

What if the writing process itself became an expression of this truth? What if instead of striving to produce something "worthy," we approached writing as an opportunity to let God express His life through us?

Embracing a New Approach

This perspective transforms how we write:

• We begin in surrender rather than striving. Instead of gritting our teeth and trying harder to produce "godly content," we start by surrendering the writing process to God.

• We write from overflow rather than emptiness. The pressure to generate "spiritual content" is replaced by the natural expression of what God is already doing in our lives.

• We find peace in the process, not just the product. Since the value of our writing isn't determined solely by its reception or impact, we can write with a deep sense of peace.

• We release the burden of outcomes. When we understand that God Himself is the source of any truly good work, we can release the crushing weight of trying to make our writing "successful" by our own power.

Connection, Not Perfection

So if you're wrestling with whether your writing pleases God, perhaps the most important question isn't about the writing itself, but about your connection to the Vine.

Are you allowing Jesus to express His life through you as you write? Are you writing from a place of abiding rather than striving?

This doesn't mean abandoning the craft of writing or ignoring practical concerns like clarity and quality.

Instead, it means recognizing that even these aspects of writing can flow from your union with Christ rather than from anxious effort.