Thursdays – Dawn’s Devotions for Writers“So they set out and went from village to village, preaching
While a young teen, I thought I wanted to be a doctor—more specifically, a missionary doctor. I had romantic ideas about what it would be like to go to Africa and save starving children’s lives. That probably had something to do with the movies I watched at the time—like Tarzan, and The Singing Nun.
As an older teen, I seriously thought about serving as a medical missionary in the jungle called New York City, saving drug addicts, runaways, and prostitutes. That dream was largely influenced by the number of books I read by Reverend David Wilkerson. Remember The Cross and the Switchblade?
In college, I majored in biology and received excellent grades in that area, but barely survived getting a minor in chemistry. I realized that I didn’t have what it took to get into a medical program. And with a little time, I discovered that I was okay with that. I accepted that I wasn’t going to be a healer.
God had other plans.
Luke 9:6 says, “So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.” This verse is talking about the power Jesus gave the disciples to physically heal people and cure them of the diseases that plagued their bodies.
But healing comes in different forms. I think when the disciples preached the gospel—along with physical healings—emotional and spiritual healings also took place.
We have the opportunity as writers to help the healing process with words.
When someone is hurting, but reads about God’s love, grace, and forgiveness in our devotions, articles, or stories—their wounds may begin to heal. When they see characters in novels they can relate to, and those characters find hope, the reader begins to believe they can also have hope. They wonder if broken relationships really can be mended with God’s help. They look at the possibility that God does have a plan for their lives.
When someone has experienced a bad day, a few written words causing laughter can lighten the load and lift the spirit. And a note of encouragement to someone who's discouraged can make all the difference in that person having the courage to not give up.
Our tools aren’t medicines, scalpels, or sutures. Our healing tool is simply the pen.
Write on, dear friends. We have important work to do.
