Our pastor’s sermon yesterday was about a real turning point in the Israelites’ lives: whether to follow the advice of Caleb and Joshua and proceed with taking the land of Canaan (as God had promised it to them) or follow the advice of 10 other spies who were scared and said, “There’s no way we can attack these people and win!”
One of my favorite verses in the story is Numbers 14:24 (and this is the Lord talking): “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendents will inherit it.”
I wonder how Caleb was different from the other people around him, what gave him a “different spirit”? Scripture doesn’t mention Caleb very often, but it always says that he followed God and stood for what God wanted them to do. I think that relationship and the fact that he followed God “wholeheartedly” is what set Caleb apart.
The question then becomes: How am I different? That question addresses every area of life, but we’ll just think about it from a writing perspective. Many of us who write books for the Christian market know that our secular counterparts make lots more money than we ever might – and that’s how the world assigns our worth. We might wonder how we have the audacity to believe that God could have a message to share with the world through us – because we’re just a ‘nobody.’
Even if we write for the secular market, how are we different from all those other writers? How do we find ways for God to shine through our words and our work no matter who the audience is? Can we bring Him glory even if we’re just writing sports articles for the local newspaper or a brochure promoting a local business?
Sure we can! Our God is sovereign … omnipotent … creative … compassionate … and we’re here to bring Him glory. How do you find ways to do that in your writing, whether you’re by yourself plotting out a novel or in the middle of an office writing brochures or websites? I’d love to learn what works for you because I’m always looking for encouragement myself. :-)
1 comment:
I think that first and foremost, we need to acknowledge that what we are doing is for God, to bring Him glory. If we're doing this for Him, we should also strive for excellence. I think this thought is exemplified in the Christian market. Publishers, editors and agents, as well as all the wonderful authors out there, don't settle for anything less than God's best. That's what I hope to do. Everything I write, I pray will glorify God and show His love to those who read my words.
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