The Word for Writers

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The Prophetic Writer

I thought I wanted to be a writer. When the first pieces I wrote drew encouragement, I was sure of it. Except for the Lord’s intervention, I may have been content with this idea.

It began when I felt His urging to enter a writing contest. It wasn’t something I wanted to do. When I saw the topic of the contest, my apprehension increased. The subject was hard, boring and dry.

I said, “I can’t do this!”

He replied, “I can.”

With little faith on my part in God’s ability to work through me, we tackled the project, and I was surprisingly pleased with how it came out. Through the presence of the Holy Spirit, I saw a biblical story in a new light. Feelings and emotions I normally wouldn’t have imagined were present and apparent. I was writing as I had never written before.

The piece didn’t place in the contest, but a publication with worldwide distribution to millions of readers instantly purchased it. That was good enough for me.

From that experience, I learned what it took to write on demand. I didn’t like it. I realized I only wanted to write about what I wanted to write about, and I wondered about this.

Surely a real writer would be willing to write about a topic that doesn’t necessarily interest them. A good writer would be able to describe something as simple as a chair in words so eloquent that the reader would be able to feel the wood, see the texture, hear the creaks, and smell the varnish.

This presented a problem. I didn’t want to write about a chair. If that was a writer, it was nothing I wanted to be—so what was I doing?

By God’s leading, I began to understand the calling of the prophetic writer—someone who, through the medium of writing, translates complex spiritual insight, revelation, and wisdom into easily understandable illustrations, examples, and stories.

From my experience in the writing contest, I knew that my writing was not limited to my ability. Through the Spirit, I have access to creativity and insight beyond myself. I began to understand that it was possible to be the pen and not the writer.

This put an entirely different slant on what I considered a writer to be. I’ve always been more concerned with content than with form, and exploring revelation is infinitely more interesting than indulging in artistic exercise. It was intriguing to think that writing could be an exciting spiritual adventure.

I began to search through scripture for revelation. I prayed for wisdom and understanding. I felt the Lord drawing me near, calling me into intimacy. Jesus was the answer. Wisdom is found in Him. He is the Spirit of revelation.

Did I dive right in? I would like to say yes. But the Lord revealed the truth through an internal vision.

I saw an underwater cave not far from the shore, a cave of wonders where one could mine for gems of wisdom. It was open to enter.

And where was I?

I was wading in the shallow water right outside the cave’s entrance. I was searching through rocks, finding value in some and discarding others. But it was obvious that nothing at the mouth of the cave could compare with what was to be found inside.

In reflection, I thought I had been digging for treasure, but I was actually just flipping through my Bible, looking for the easily available wisdom. I was rummaging through my mind for lessons long ago learned that I could polish up.

The message was clear. I need to enter in to have access to the hidden gems—the wisdom of God. Jesus is not going to stand in there and toss them out to me.

He beckons me: Come.

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