Encouragement for Writers

Encouragement for Writers (and everyone else!)

This month, I’d like to offer some encouragement for writers (and anyone who ever shares words, which is – well, all of us.) I shared the following devotion at my monthly Historical & Biblical fiction Writers Group (FABCHOW) a few weeks ago. I had many positive comments back so I thought it might benefit others to post it here on my blog, including a reference to my own writing to explain my thought process. So here we go…

Delighted in You

In The Wanderer Reborn, I introduce the character of Seth to my story of the first family (Adam & Eve and their children after the Garden of Eden). Now, because I have other siblings younger than Abel but older than Seth (though Seth is the first to be born after Abel’s death), I needed to justify why Seth would be chosen to continue Adam’s spiritual line rather than one of these older siblings. It is Seth who is the ancestor of Noah and indeed, very distantly, of Jesus himself (see Luke 3:38).

To do this, I give Seth a measure of spiritual discernment, shown in the narrative by a song he composes after a conversation he has with Awan about fig trees. Here’s a snippet of the conversation (Seth is called Set here):

A handful of winter figs were ready to pick on my tree near the river. I gently cupped and pulled them off, then cradled them to my heart. This was the first year the once tender sapling – and much-beloved innovation of Kayin – had grown large enough to produce full-sized fruit.

‘Your tree is better than Abba’s,’ Set commented.

‘Yes. Kayin said that this was a perfect spot for a tree. It is so close to the water that the roots are constantly nourished. She is bearing the fruit of her good planting,’ I added, affectionately stroking the trunk.

The Wanderer Reborn, Ch10, © Natasha Woodcraft

I imagine Set dwelling on those words and seeing in them truths about the Lord, for he later sings:

Blessed are those whose delight is in Yahweh.
They are like trees planted by water,
Where leaves do not wither, and fruits do not fail.
Whatever they do shall prosper. 

Not so those who fail to trust Him. 
They are chaff blown on the wind, reaching the sky.
Yahweh Elohim, grant that we may be
Delighted in you, the Most High.

Psalm 1

As I was dwelling on these words a few weeks ago, I felt led to go back to Psalm 1, on which the song is based:

Psalm 1
1 
Blessed is the one    
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take    
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,    
and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,   
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—    
whatever they do prospers.
4 
Not so the wicked!    
They are like chaff    
that the wind blows away.
5 
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,    
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,    
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

This Psalm, the very first Psalm in the canon, sets the tone for those that follow. It emphasises the importance of setting our roots in the word of God, in the law of the Lord as the Psalmist calls it, in order to be healthy trees, not withering and yielding fruit.

Living Water

When Jesus talks to the Samaritan woman at the well, this Psalm takes on a new meaning.

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water…

Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:10 and 14

What is the water that Jesus offers? It is himself. He is the word of God. He is the living water, the one who provides eternal life.

Setting our roots in Jesus

If we set our roots in Jesus, he will be to us the stream of living water that never dries. How do we do that? By doing what the Psalm says:

1) Not walking in step with the wicked (v1). We do need to be careful of the company we keep. I don’t think this means shutting ourselves off from the world but instead being cautious (it’s a lot easier to be pulled down than up) and, at every opportunity, surrounding ourselves with believers who can encourage us towards righteousness.

AND

2) Delighting in the Word of God (v2) – meditating on the written word and on Jesus himself – day and night. In this way, we may sink our roots deep into Christ.

Later in John 7:38, Jesus extends the metaphor:

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.

So Jesus’ living water isn’t just something we need to absorb by planting ourselves deep in its stream. It’s also something that can flow out of us when we are trusting in Jesus. This will apply to all of life – every conversation, thought and deed can be affected. But also, this is where it becomes relevant to those of us who write. I believe that if we sink ourselves deep into the living word of God then words of righteousness will begin to flow from us.

Bearing Fruit in Season

As I was jotting down this devotion, I felt something missing. I only had a few minutes left before the meeting, but I prayed, “Lord, show me what you want me to say!” Then I spotted the words in season (v3). The tree planted by streams of water yields its fruit in season.

Sometimes that season isn’t right now. Maybe it will take a while for your writing (or other projects) to take off, or to bless people the way you long for. But be assured, if you are planted in the stream: if you’re surrounding yourself with other believers, if you are meditating on the word, spending time with Jesus himself and listening to him – you will yield fruit at the right time.

And in the meantime? Your leaves won’t wither! You will keep being nourished, you will keep growing. The Lord will prosper you. He knows what he is doing! Ephesians 2:10 tells us that

“…we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

So be encouraged!

I pray that today you may be encouraged to sink your roots more deeply into Christ’s living water and that his living water will also flow from you.

If you want to listen to the song, you can do so by playing it below (and do please subscribe to my YouTube if you like it.)

Stock images courtesy of pixabay.com