God’s Still, Small Voice
Often times for Christian authors writing for the CBA market look at the story’s spiritual elements and character spiritual arcs.
As I was reading one of my critique partners stories, she worried about what message God was trying to give her story. Her characters didn’t have any of the normal spiritual strengths she was used to writing.
As I read her magnificent story, I was struck by the way God’s voice came through. While in her other books, His voice had be loud and clear, in this book He had chosen to speak in His usual way, a still, small voice.
His message didn’t hit you over the head and declare listen to me, I’m speaking. Instead, His voice was a quiet invitation to allow Him to work in your heart and change you without your notice.
Her story was powerful but in a quiet way, not the way we often demand to God to reveal Himself. He hid Himself in the folds of the story, gently whispering to the soul.
Writers, let this be an encouragement to you. When you read your story that you have written with God and you find it lacking His voice, maybe you aren’t listening hard enough. Sometimes He chooses our stories to be full of plot and character arc, but quiet on the spiritual arc because the message is too delicate to be shouted.
I could go into the book of Ruth and how it is unlike any other book in the Bible, but I think you get the message. If not, go read Ruth. The romance and story are beautiful and powerful in their own right, but it is the still, small voice of that story that is most powerful.
Authors, listen for God’s still small voice. How do you hear it in your writing? Readers, in what ways has God used story to impact your life?
God bless, and may you hear His still small voice today.