Writing God's Words? by Tracy Williamson

The Lord spoke to me saying 'write to Jane and tell her that I am calling her to China and she needs to buy an apartment there.'!
That was actually a fictional prophetic command from the Lord so needless to say I never did write it to Jane (who was also fictional) But I share it for an important reason.  As a Christian writer, dare I believe that some of the words I write are inspired by God and that through them people will literally encounter God and hear what He is saying to them?  Surely that is presumptuous? How can I, an ordinary,  middle aged woman who has never even been to Bible College, claim to write God's words? 
Well I am not going to answer that here with a theological treatise (phew). But what I am growing to understand is that because God has chosen me to be His dwelling place.  His Spirit lives within me  and therefore uses me to express His love to others through the various gifts, experiences and personality traits that He has woven into my life, yes and through my writing too.
So what does that mean in practice? Am I to write prophetically, sharing His message through direct words from His heart or describing a picture or vision He has given?
Sometimes yes, for I've seen that just as God told Habakkuk to:
'write down the vision and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it,' (Hab 2:2. NIV)
. . .so writing down what He lays on my heart will take that message to a wider audience making it easier for them to receive than if they'd simply heard it. Such a word or picture is not as Holy Scripture of course, but nevertheless is beautiful and awesome in its power to touch someone's life or bring deep challenge.  Bible writers experienced this again and again.  Think how Zephaniah sensed God's Father heart, that He was constantly rejoicing over His children, and then wrote it down so that all could understand and be blessed.:
'He will take great delight in you...He will rejoice over you with singing' Zeph 3:17
Similarly I find God can suddenly make me aware of His love and delight in someone or deep care for their struggles  and as I start to jot the impression down it becomes a wonderful prophetic word.  I may write it as a letter and give it to them in person but I also find such words come to me as I write my devotionals, my blogs and my books.  It may be He draws my attention to something simple that I notice in my everyday life . . . once a lady came up to me carrying many bags. I sensed the bags were a sign of something in her life that the Lord wanted to touch. . . He seemed to say that she had taken on too many burdens and needed to lay some down.  I gently asked if she was feeling overwhelmed and explained about the word I felt God had given me and she burst into tears. I was able to pray for her.  Later I wrote it down as a tender word from God's heart as I felt it could help many others too.
But writing God's words as direct prophecies or pictures isn't the only way. After all, if we are story writers,  poets, journalists. . . we can hardly suddenly include a prophecy! But He can still use our writing to make His heart and ways known.  If the One who created this universe in such awesome detail and lavish beauty is truly dwelling in us, it surely follows that His creative beauty will be revealed in our writing. If He is unconditionally kind and faithful, those characteristics can and will be shown in the stories, poems, articles or blogs that we pen. And if He who spoke this universe into being and still speaks to comfort, challenge, guide and encourage us, then surely His voice of love will be heard through us too? He will be hiding inside our words empowering them to be encouraging, uplifting, comforting, hope giving, revealing goodness, joy, laughter, empathy and love. Or bringing alive the battle we all live in between good and evil, the reality of cruelty, pain and terror and yet the certainty of prevailing hope and love.

 

I find it an awesome privilege and holy responsibility to think that my simple words can be so pregnant with God's presence that His light can shine through them into our often dark and cynical world. 

Tracy Williamson is an author and speaker working together with the blind Gospel singer Marilyn Baker for the Christian Charity MBM Trust: www.mbm-ministries.org  Tracy and Marilyn lead conferences and other events seeking to bring restoration to people through drawing them into intimacy with God.  Tracy has written 5 books about hearing God's voice and her latest book 'The Father's Kiss' will be released this October.