Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. I Corinthians 9:26,27, NLT

I got up one morning to accomplish my writing routine for the day. Although I expended a lot of time putting words down on paper, after looking at what I had written I realized I had just been "punching the air."

What does "'punching the air" mean? It means I didn’t have a specific goal in mind when I sat down to write and rather than hitting a specific writing target for the day, I wrote aimlessly.

In today's bible passage, the apostle Paul reminds me that I can’t just punch the air when I write; like a good boxer who doesn't miss his punches, I must make sure that every time I write, I write with a specific goal in mind. For example, is it my goal for the day to write x number of pages or a chapter for a book? Is it my goal to write a devotion to post and share on my social media pages? Is it my goal to write an op-ed article I'd like to submit to an online publication or newspaper?

In his biblical commentary regarding today's scripture,, Erwin Lutzer said that it matters not how fast the swing or how powerful the punch of a boxer; if the opponent takes no hits, he is wasting his energy. Similarly, it matters not how much time you're investing into writing every day if you're not writing with a specific goal or purpose in mind. So make sure you've defined your writing goal before you begin writing to ensure your'e not  just punching the air, but making every hit count.. 

Sharing the journey,

Jeaninne