By Faith

ACFWAdvice, Encouragement, Friends of ACFW, writing 4 Comments

By Loretta Eidson

Hebrews 11:1 is called the faith chapter in the Bible. The New International Version (NIV) states that “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” The passages following that first verse go on to expound on people in the Bible who exercised their faith in God.

  1. By faith, Able offered God a better sacrifice than Cain.
  2. By faith, Enoch was taken from this life so that he did not experience death.
  3. By faith, Noah built an ark to save his family.
  4. By faith, Abraham obeyed God and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
  5. By faith Abraham, even though he was past age, and Sarah, his wife, was barren, became a father.

And the list goes on: By faith Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the people, and the prostitute Rahab.

Need I say more?

The Message Version of this opening verse reads like this: “The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.”

Look at the New American Standard version. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Why expound on faith?

Faith is what drives us to pursue God’s plan for writing, and writing is another avenue of witnessing. It’s our faith in God’s ability to use us regardless of other people’s opinions or how we see ourselves. We know the call God placed on us. Therefore, we have responsibilities, and we must take heed and fulfill them to succeed.

Faith requires action.

“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:14

So, what do we do? We obey the Scripture.

  1. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)
  2. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
  3. “You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.” Revelation 2:3 (NIV)
  4. “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid.” Proverbs 12:1 (NIV)

Imagine our names among those listed in the Bible—by faith Loretta or by faith Dana or by faith Roger trusted God. They studied writing techniques, character building, story arcs, plots, and deep POV. They attended writers conferences and learned more about writing. They heeded correction and made adjustments. They didn’t give up when rejections turned them away. They kept the faith and pressed forward even when they couldn’t see what the future held.

Wouldn’t it be amazing to have such a description follow our names into the publishing world? To be known as trustworthy and dedicated not only to our readers, but to our agents, editors, and publishers as well? To be known as team players in a world of uncertainties? To be known as encouragers and mentors and that we loved God and lived—by faith.

By Faith, we pursue God’s plan to write. #ACFWBlogs @lorettajeidson #amwriting Click To Tweet

Loretta Eidson writes romantic suspense. She was a double finalist in the 2017 Daphne du Maurier contest, won second place in the 2017 Catherine, first place in her genre in the 2014 Novel Rocket Contest, a 2013 and 2015 semi-finalist in ACFW’s Genesis contest, and finalist in ACFW’s 2014 Genesis.Visit Loretta on her Facebook page, Twitter or Website.

 

 

 

 

Comments 4

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *