Stop Stealing the Pen

What happens when we stop trusting God’s timing… and start writing our own story?

In this episode of Coffee Talk, Candace breaks down the powerful story of Sarah and Abraham and what it really means to “steal the pen” from God. From rushed decisions to forced outcomes, this conversation challenges you to examine the areas of your life where you may have stepped ahead of God.

If you’ve ever:

• Tried to control the outcome
• Forced something that wasn’t flowing
• Found yourself in a situation you now have to survive

This episode will ask you one life-changing question:

What year of wilderness are you in?

It’s time to surrender the pen… and trust the Author.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Stop stealing the pen. Put it down. Stop stealing the pen. Stop stealing the pen from God. Because every time you do, you end up writing yourself into something you were never meant to live through. Welcome back to Coffee Talk. This is your host, Candace. And today we're talking about something we don't even realize we do. We keep trying to write into our own story. Most of you have heard the story of Abraham and Sarah, where God promised them a son, their nation, a legacy. But Sarah, you know, she doubted and she ended up giving her handmaid, Hagar, to her husband to produce what God told them that he would do. And yes, from that union, a child came, but that child was not the promise that God gave them. And here's the part we don't always talk about. At least we don't always talk about enough. Sarah had to deal with something that she wrote into her own story. Does that sound familiar? Because a lot of us are currently living in situations right now that God never even wrote for us. I myself almost had a Sarah and Abraham moment. My husband and I had tried for years to have kids. And eventually we were told that, you know, we we would not have children. And with that, you know, one night I was praying. And I, if I'm being honest, I was kind of angry with God. I was like, Lord, you know, the one thing that I want, you know, I I can't even, I can't have it. And it was like that still small voice, but I could feel or and hear the Holy Spirit tell me, you know, that I he had a ram in the bush for me and that I would have children. And so while I heard that promise, I myself was trying to write into my story how I thought that promise was supposed to be fulfilled. I ended up going to a fertility specialist and we were looking at doing IVF. We were even looking at doing a surrogate. Like we were looking at everything. We were looking at adoption. Like I just, I knew, I'm like, well, the Lord promised me this, so you know, I have to make it happen. And my husband, you know, through the process, extremely supportive. But, you know, one day he was just like, we need to wait on God. Like, I believe in miracles and God is going to give us what we desire. And, you know, and thank God for my husband for keeping me grounded and rooted at that time, although it's not what I wanted to hear, but he was right. Because looking back at it, I would have written things into my story that were never meant to be a part of my promise or never even meant to be a part of my story. And God did. He blessed us with two beautiful babies. And I just think about if I would have written, you know, an alternate ending for my own self, how that would have turned out. So I'll say it like this sometimes we pray to God about things, and we feel like just because we pray, the Lord shouldn't make it happen. So we might start off like, hey, Lord, I trust you. And then some time passes, and then we're like, Lord, where are you? And then more time passes, and we're like, okay, God, I got it from here. And that's the moment where we grab the pen. We start making moves, we start forcing relationships, we start opening doors that God never told us to open. We even close doors that God never told us to close. And so now we're in something and we are forced to survive in the situations versus thrive. So let me ask you a question. What year of wilderness are you in? What did you write into your story that God never intended for you to carry? Because some delays aren't from the devil, they are from our decisions. And when I asked you about your year of wilderness, you know, in the Bible, the children of Israel, God gave them a promise as well. But during that process, they complained and they doubted and they were disobedient and what should have taken days, that journey they were supposed to take, it ended up taking 40 years. And some of them never even made it to the promised land. So when I ask you, like, what year of wilderness are you in? Where are you in a situation where God has promised you something? But because you decided to do the opposite of what he told you to do, now it's taken you longer to get to that promise. So if if I can be honest with you guys, I struggle with this. I've struggled with it in my past and I currently struggle with this. I like details. I like clarity. Candace has to know if plan A fails, then what's B, C and D. I need to know. But when God tells you to move and you don't obey, he won't give you the next step because obedience should come first, not the understanding. So, what's the solution to this problem? This is your shift. Put the pen down. Literally, put it down. You don't have to figure it out. You don't have to control it, you don't have to force it. God is the author, and his story for your life is better than anything that you can write. So today, I challenge you all to do a self-check. Where in your story have you taken the pen from God? But the biggest question and submissive act that I need you to do is put it down. Like, are you ready to give it back to God? And if you find yourself where you're like, okay, Lord, I surrender. Here's the pen back. Don't pick it back up. Leave it in God's hands. Because as I stated, his ending and his details to your story are so much better than anything you would ever imagine or think for yourself. Let me pray for you all. Father God, to the person on the other end listening, if they are struggling with trying to write details into their story, whether it be because of a lack of patience or the need to make something happen expeditiously, God, give them the courage and the strength to simply wait, simply hear your voice and simply obey. Lord, for those of us who have written into our stories and we are living in the situations that we have written for ourselves, help us, Father, to navigate through those situations and put us back on a path to your plan. Father, for we know that your plan and your purpose for our life is better than anything that we could think or imagine. For that we trust you and we love you, Father. In your name we pray. Amen. Thank you all for spending these 10 minutes or less with me today. If this conversation encouraged you, please share it with another individual who might need to hear it too. Until next time, keep walking in faith, keep growing, and remember you are not on this journey alone. Be blessed.