God is a Words Person
Words – we speak them, we think them, we embody them. Did you know there are approximately 700 distinct sounds that twist and turn to comprise all the languages in the world? Did you ever stop to wonder what language God verbalized to speak creation into existence? What did it sound like when God said, “Let there be light.” What sounds combined to birth the universe and set the hundred million galaxies into motion?
Words, whether they be written or spoken, are generated by the heart. Luke 6:45 tells us that our mouths speak out of the overflow of the heart – and anyone who has lived with a tired toddler or a moody teenager will tell you that the heart has no filter. There is beauty in the raw processing that happens in our hearts. Before a word is on a page, it begins with a conclusion. A thought. King David (arguably one of the most gifted writers ever to walk the earth) once sought for God to be pleased with the words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart. These two are combined because we are combined beings. We have three parts: body, soul, and spirit and the words generated within any one of these three parts have powerful effects on our lives and the lives of those around us. I think in this way we are so much like our Father in heaven.
You do realize that being made in His image means you have inherited His likeness? You’re more like Him than you realize – you who believe! Your words have creative power – the power of life and death, just like your Father. You have the mind of Christ, wholly set apart to see the beauty and wonder of His world. That’s where your impetus for worship comes from. You see beauty, you see majesty, you see horror and pain, and no matter the circumstances, your response to each is your spiritual act of worship. It’s a creative expression unique to you – gifted by your Heavenly Father who has called you into good works that you should walk in them.
William Wadsworth once said, “Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.” I can remember the first time I was told that I should write. My fifth grade teacher, Anne Hebson, told me there was a gift of words waiting for me to unwrap it. I think I always knew that I was a word person – I delight in words. The right word actually brings me joy. It’s a thing of beauty when the order and placement and rhythm of a phrase are just right. Laugh all you want – some of you know what I mean.
Over the years, I’ve had several other people tell me that I was born to write – teachers, professors, other authors, prophets and beloved mothers and fathers in faith – each time being another confirmation over time of what has settled in my spirit to be a truth. This is who I am and this expression is how I am like my Father. He is a word person, too, you know.
You might be wondering if I am really called to write, then why have I not been published yet? Good question. I would reply that not everything written has been published for man. I have watched this happen over and over in the arts – and the expression of worship made public. The Lord is not slow to keep His promises, as some would count slowness. His promises are always yes and amen. It is our hearts that take His priority. A creative gift, honed in secret, developed before Him, birthed through a desire to be pleasing in both thought and deed, is a gift best offered in the secret place. There He can delight in me and my soul knows His pleasure – I cannot easily be lured away to seek the opinions of man because I have tasted and I know that the Lord is good. His pleasure in my expression is what matters to me and what defines my writing.
So someday, if ever, I am published and my ordering of those 700+/- sounds makes an impression on anyone here, I will thank God for the opportunity to live, absorb, and express the events of my time. I pray it will all be centered around the idea that my tongue is the pen of a ready writer (Psalm 45:1) – and in Him I live, and move and have my being.
I’ll wrap up this little blog with one of my favorite events from the Bible (John chapter 4). Jesus is talking with the woman at the well and He says something to her that is foundational to worship arts and creative expression. They are having the G.O.A.T. “Come to Jesus Meeting” (sorry…couldn’t resist) and He says, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” I’m pretty sure everyone has heard that part of the story. The disciples are dumbfounded to find Jesus talking to a Samaritan…and a Samaritan woman at that! She heads back to the town and starts telling the men about her experience. They decide to go check out what’s happening at the well and Jesus ends up staying two days in the town while many people come to know Him. Then my favorite part happens. If you read on, you will find this gem in verse 42: “…and they were saying to the woman, ‘It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.’ ”
The greatest thing our words could ever do is bring someone to the point of hearing for themselves. We cannot speak or write with fancy speech and persuasive words and expect that our puffed-up self will accomplish anything of eternal value. The woman at the well met Jesus. She spoke of Jesus and magnified Him and as a result of her expression, the townspeople were able to hear for themselves. She wasn’t concerned with their opinion. She wasn’t worried about pleasing the crowd because she had one story to tell in that moment and her obedience brought fruit. I will let you in on a little secret: God was pleased and that’s all that really mattered.
