Let’s date back to the nineties, eighties and even the seventies. Can you think of popular hymns that were written in such times? and also think of how they are still such a huge blessing to people?
I’ll tell you one, “Amazing Grace” by John Newton which was written in 1779. Let’s sing a little,
“Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
T’was blind but now I see
T’was Grace that taught my heart to fear
And Grace, my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed…”
Such soothing words right?
It’s humbling, it makes you reflect on God’s goodness.
It reminds you of the essentials of why you’re living.
It keeps you focused on Christ.These are qualities of life-giving words.
There was a time I was disconnected from my environment in church, somehow, my mind wasn’t focused on the right things and suddenly I heard a hymn which reminded me of God’s faithfulness and to the glory of His name my focus returns and I turned my gaze to Jesus, I was refreshed in His presence and renewed in my mind.
This is how God wants all His children to write. Now tell me, why are some of these hymns still potent? Why are the words still alive and relevant even after their authors are long gone? Why do they give so much hope and strength? Why?
One answer should come to mind and that is, they contain words that give life, words that edify, words that build up and are backed up by His Spirit. And guess what? You can write just that way too.
“Nothing is more appealing than speaking beautiful, life-giving words. For they release sweetness to our souls and inner healing to our spirits.” -Proverbs 16:24 TPT
Firstly, we have to identify what life-giving words means, we must understand that as writers, God doesn’t just want us to write, He wants us to write words that give life because that’s the ONLY authentic way to write for a change.
Life-giving words are words that represent truth, the truth of God’s word. A writer can write words that will speak truth to save a whole generation. A writer is a great tool in the fulfillment of God’s agenda so He must write words that give life.
So let’s begin! How to pen words that give life and not just mere words;
1. STAY CONNECTED: You must constantly and intentionally be connected to the source of life -God. Life-giving words carry the life of God which means they have the ability to save and to make whole.
2. WRITE TRUTHFULLY: You must write words that represent truth and the truth of God’s word. I told you about the time I was disturbed in my mind and a hymn blessed my heart with peace, that’s because those are words that are truthful. A lie can’t edify. Write truthfully, not fake words, without any hidden motive or agenda. This means that even if we are writing fictions, we must not neglect a godly message, the truth is our major priority, not fun.
3. BE INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. This should be number two! Haha! The HolySpirit is our greatest and most reliable teacher. Have you ever written about a thing you didn’t study in school or ever intentionally experienced or read about but you were inspired by God to write about it? Then the outcome was a huge blessing. Choose to be led by the Holy Spirit because He knows the state and the heart of every man and He alone can reveal to you what people are going through and the solutions they truly need.
4. SHARE YOUR TESTIMONY! You are a beneficiary of God’s grace and every testimony that gives glory to God are words that give life.
5. WRITE FROM GOD’S WORDS: Explaining and breaking down scriptures is a form of writing. It will bless lives and correct/prevent mistakes. This is one of the most authentic ways to write life-giving words. I write words gotten from His words, tell inspiring stories through them which people can relate to.
6. WRITE WORDS THAT SOW SEEDS OF GODLINESS. I decided to make this the last on the list but it doesn’t make it the least. We write not just for NOW but with eternity in view. We write long term, we write for a greater expectation, not for personal gain but to the glory of His name and to save souls. We don’t write to celebrate our literary skills, we write for a purpose and that’s to glorify God and advance His kingdom.
Therefore, our words are seeds, and they must be godly seeds. Our words are sown into the heart of men and the purpose of that seed will germinate no matter the source, this is why we must have godly messages. I once wrote a story after which I got a lot of testimonies from but one stood out, the lady said it helped her make a decision not to go into a relationship with an ungodly man.
My story was a godly and righteous seed! Glory! Because of the words I wrote which had truth and righteousness, the words were able to lead people into godliness and that produced godly fruits. You, my writer friend, can do much more for the Kingdom if you become intentional about penning life-giving words.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to enlighten you, I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this enriching platform and I’m grateful to God for giving me the words to write.
As I drop my physical pen, always remember this scripture I shared earlier;
“Nothing is more appealing than speaking beautiful, life-giving words. For they release sweetness to our souls and inner healing to our spirits.” -Proverbs 16:24 TPT
God bless you.
Author: I’m Catherine Ezenwammadu, popularly known as a godly writer who has a love for the glory of God. I’m also the pioneer of CAfrica which is a creative and inspirational brand focused on developing and harnessing the potentials in individuals and organizations to achieve maximum impact.
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