Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Equipped


In my California office hangs a sign that I’ve made--an encouraging message God gave me about a year ago. At that time I had just finished writing Coral Moon. That novel was a real bugger to write, and when I finished, I was exhausted. I needed to start on my next book; I needed to come up with fresh plot ideas for a new contract with Zondervan. I couldn’t do either. There waited my terrific publisher, ready to buy more books from me—but I had nothing to offer. I felt depleted. For weeks I couldn’t produce a single idea.

Then one morning I was reading in Exodus, and the story of Bezalel jumped out at me. Bezalel is the first artist the Bible records as being specifically called to use his creativity for God. In this case, Bezalel’s talents would be used for making the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant, and all the accoutrements.

Chapter 31: 2-5: See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship.

God’s voice surged to me that morning: “Brandilyn, I have called and equipped you in the same way.”

Wow. What an encouragement when I needed it. Not that I didn’t know I’d had a specific calling to write fiction for Him. But this reminder was just what I needed at the time. Perhaps I’m not as talented in my field as Bezalel was in his, but that doesn’t matter. The bottom line is simple. God called Bezalel to do what He needed him to do—and equipped him to do it. Didn’t mean Bezalel’s job would always be easy or fun. But he could rely on being EQUIPPED BY GOD.

I jumped on the computer and made my sign, adapting these verses to apply to me.

See, I have called by name Brandilyn.
I have filled her with the Spirit of God,
In wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge,
And in the craftsmanship of writing—
To create artistic characters, in the shaping of plot,
and in the design of sentences,
that she may work in the craft of Story.


In whatever God calls you to do—know that you are equipped.

12 comments:

Kristy Dykes said...

My eyes misted over as I read your post, and about halfway through, I envisioned myself as a cheerleader shaking her pom poms and shouting, "Yes, yes, yes!" Thank you soooo much for an encouraging word! I just love hearing stories like this, of Famous Authors Who Struggle, Persevere, and Come Forth Victoriously. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I can so see Kristy with pom poms cheering, ya know? :)

The call is what it is. You want it, you hear it, you know it, you do it, and you wait to see what the Lord will do with it.

You are called to write, BC, and you do it with His touch.

I'm still in the waiting and seeing mode, but it doesn't change the call. I will write, contract or no contract.

Thank you for your heart after God, and may He continue to bless your healing process in the Name of His Son Jesus Christ, Amen.

Susanne said...

Brandilyn, that is beautiful and totally encouraging and so what I needed to hear right about now. Thanks for sharing that special word that the Lord gave to you at a rough time!

Anonymous said...

That passage has been very encouraging to me also and I love the BC version! rose

Jannie Ernst said...

Thank you, Brandilyn! I needed this today!

CreativeDayCafe said...

Thank you so much for this encouraging post. It is exactly what I needed today.

Eden said...

Thank you for that encouraging passage, Brandilyn. I definitely needed it today!

Lynetta said...

Beautiful post, Brandilyn! And thank you for sharing so much encouragement with us. What a blessing.

Karen Eve said...

Thank you Brandilyn, that is wonderful. I absolutely love 'peronalizing' Bible verses and too often I forget to do it. Also, thank you for being vulnerable and sharing your own struggles. Most of us think that everything comes easy to you since you're published (even if the cabinets suffer a little). It's one more reminder that we see others from the outside-in and ourselves from the inside-out.
Blessings

Southern-fried Fiction said...

I love that scripture. The first ti eI noticed it, I was writing a full length musical play. Never thought I could do that, but with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, I did. Love the idea of a sign for it.

batgirl said...

wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

Paula said...

Funny how I can KNOW something. Even teach it. (Been writing Soul Scents on the book of Ephesians lately--I mean that book is full of the whole equipped idea.) But here I sit. Needing this. Needing to be reminded exactly the way you said it.

Thanks.