The Rewards of Writing God’s Books

 

‘I’m reading your book to my grandchildren.’ My friend casually dropped this information into our conversation.

I blinked, taken aback. ‘Which book?’

She grinned. ‘El Roi.’

‘But…’ I was more than a little disturbed. I write books for adults, mature adults and I write about adult themes.

She laughed at my reaction. ‘They love it. Some of the scenes I adjust a little, but they are engrossed.’

I was still floored. I know these kids. They are under ten years old. But observant     enough to ask what my name was doing on the cover.

In my last blog I wrote about the high cost of writing. This time I want to talk about the immeasurable rewards to be reaped from writing, for walking in obedience without counting the cost.

God and I have an agreement about my books. He helps me write, yes, but promises that if I get them published, He will distribute them. It seems He’s more interested in getting a book in a particular person’s house or hand than selling them by the hundred!

Occasionally I get feedback about His unseen work. A stranger emailed to thank me for El Shaddai.

            Hi Jo,

Thank you so much for writing El Shaddai! I came across it in an Op Shop in Ipswich whilst visiting my daughter! Of course I was led by God as the title jumped out at me. What a blessing!

Please know how precious your writing is as the conversations with God in the story bring Him even closer. 

When I stood behind my novels at a stand in at the  Koorong bookstore in Toowoomba a few Saturdays ago, I was amazed by the number of people who stopped to tell me how much they had enjoyed “Though the Bud be Bruised”. We published that book thirteen years ago and it is still affecting lives. I know that for everyone who shares or comments, there are many who don’t.

A book is like a stealth bomber. It glides in through Kindle, a loan or a bookstore, looking innocent. But it can be an explosive weapon that helps set people free.

Let’s see what happened with my friend’s grandchildren who couldn’t wait to read more each night. When it was time for them to go home, the story wasn’t finished. One of them read aloud for the full hour’s drive to their house. to finish it.

‘We see demons like that coming through our window.’ They told their grandmother. This opened a conversation and my friend used the book to help them learn the power of Jesus and how to deal with demons.

In my ideal world, children don’t know about demons. But most kids today are not being raised in an ideal world. It would never enter my head to talk to my grandchildren about demons, but this book does and brings promise of a Light that the darkness can’t put out. It’s a message of hope that so many need to hear.

In the early hours of Saturday morning in Toowoomba a truth burst into my mind. ‘Your writing is not a business or a hobby. It’s a ministry.’

What perfect timing the Lord has. This was the morning I was preparing to sit in Koorong. I knew then that my job was to spread God’s love. It wasn’t about sales, but being God’s ears and mouth. During the day further understanding came. I worry about the finances when I perceive it as a business. Or even a hobby. But I don’t have any problem sinking cash into ministry. This understanding released me into a new freedom.

Monday morning we were still resting at the BNB in the suburbs. A truck, a loud, large truck rumbled past our little place and stopped. To understand the significance of this I need to explain that for about 15 years God has used OVERSIZE trucks to remind us of His plans for our lives. We see these beasts a lot. But on this particular morning the truck went past, stopped, ground back up the hill, kept backing and filling until he had parked in the cul de sac facing our bedroom. By then I was out the front taking pics.

I think God was yelling at me! Once again promising us OVERSIZE blessings in our lives, in this ministry.

As I said, the rewards of writing His words, publishing, and distributing them are beyond our imagination.

Do you have a similar story? Do you get abundantly blessed by this calling? 

Jo Wanmer is a story teller. But struggles to put those stories into accepable prose. She writes with the help of the Holy Spirit. Without His inspiration there would be no books. Though the Bud be Bruised was published thirteen years ago. Last year El Shaddai was released and it's prequel, El Roi, has just been published. 

She lives with her husband of fifty-three years just north of Brisbane. Family, God and writing are here three passions. Eleven great-grandchildren (under 6) now fill their home with love and chaos.