The Beatitudes for Writers by Steph Beth Nickel

As I was considering this month's prompt, the letter B, I thought about The Beatitudes in Matthew 5.

And then I thought about how they could apply specifically to us as writers.

Here are a few of my thoughts.

Poor in spirit...

As writers, we may have a way with words. Others may commend us for our effective communication skills. We may be able to make complex ideas understandable and paint beautiful word pictures.

Still, we must remember who gave us our ability to communicate, the Word Himself!

Those who mourn...

Sometimes, even the most effective communicators are at a loss for words. And there are times our words just don't seem adequate for a particular situation. Sometimes, we are weighed down by a plethora of reasons to mourn.

When we are faced with our own inadequacies and the injustices pressing in from all sides, thankfully, we have one to turn to who is never at a loss for words, one who will give us the right words at the right time, the God of All Comfort.

Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness...

We all know what it's like to be hungry and thirsty. But have we ever truly hungered and thirsted for righteousness? Can we pray from the depths of our spirit, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"?

As we put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and grapple with our need to hunger and thirst for righteousness, the Lord will prepare us to call our readers to 1) ask God for this spiritual hunger and thirst and 2) find both satiated by a growing relationship with Him. 

The merciful...

When we begin to grasp how far short of God's righteous standards society has fallen, we may become fired up. As writers, we may be tempted to use our words to indict the unrighteousness we see all around us. And we don't have to look very far afield.

While God does call us to proclaim the truth, He also calls us to remember the mercy He has shown us and extend that same mercy to others. It takes great skill (and abundant grace) to effectively and uncompromisingly proclaim biblical truth while doing so mercifully. Undoubtedly, we need the Lord's wisdom in abundance.

The pure in heart...

A good writer never stops honing their skill. An effective communicator realizes they can always become more effective. And a wise Christian realizes they must constantly be examining the state of their heart.

As we seek to mature in our relationship with the Lord, we increasingly reflect the nature of our Saviour. Light comes to the dark corners of our heart. And when this happens, we will be better able to communicate effectively and mercifully and make a positive difference in the world.

Peacemakers...

Wars rage all around the world. And more than ever, we've come to realize that there are wars raging within friends and family members that we were completely unaware of. Maybe we even realized there is a war raging within us.

God is the most effective peacemaker ever to have existed. While there are times He brings peace to a tormented geographical location, every day He brings peace to countless hearts, minds, and spirits. Amazingly, He often does this through our words. As we find our peace in Him, we can become peacemakers as well.

Those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake...

Jesus ended the beatitudes by saying those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake are blessed. Even though we may understand this intellectually, if we're being honest, persecution doesn't seem like much of a blessing. And just how does that apply to us as writers?

Even if our communication overflows with mercy and grace... Even if we seek to be peacemakers as we put pen to paper... Even if we do so humbly, admitting our own failures... None of that will matter to some people. They may use their own communication "skills" to malign and discredit us, to accuse us of all kinds of evil.

Still, immediately after Jesus taught His followers the truths of the beatitudes, He declared that His followers were the salt and light of the world.

So, despite what others may say about us, we must use our words to add "flavour" to a bland world and preserve what is right and true (like salt) and continue to light the darkness, whatever we write.

Betach - A Welded Trust by Joylene M Bailey

 

Image by Leopold 13 from Pixabay

I will say of the LORD, [He is] my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Psalm 91:2  

~~~~~

Remember those old Sunday School picnics where they had three-legged races? You found your partner, tied one of your ankles to their ankle and then tried to run a race as one. Unless you were perfectly in sync, you just ended up tripping each other and stumbling all over the race course.

The B word God gave me for February means something kind of like that, but only if you imagine the perfectly in sync scenario.

The first time I saw the Hebrew word Betach was when I saw my daughter's new sign by her front door. At the time I didn't know what it meant; I only knew the whispering in my spirit that said, This is it. This is the word you need to share.

I'm not a Bible scholar, but I did a tiny bit of research, and I also asked my daughter, the theology major. 

My research informed me that the word has a few meanings, mostly to do with security and safety. But in the above verse it means to adhere to, and originally came from an ancient art of welding. 

Welded to God. 

My daughter informed me that when the word is used to mean trust, it's the kind of trust that is laid prostrate on the ground in complete vulnerability and surrender. Nothing held back.

I'd have to say it takes surrendering everything to be welded to something. In those old three-legged races, your ankles were joined by a flimsy rope of some kind. Imagine having your whole body welded to another. You give up your way of doing things. When their arm moves, your arm moves. When they turn left, you turn left. It is a complete surrendering.

I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge

and my fortress: my God; in him will I be

welded in complete vulnerability and surrender.

Well, who wouldn't want to be welded to He who is my refuge and my fortress? I guess someone who wanted their own way, someone who didn't understand that the LORD's ways are so much higher and better than my ways. 

But oh, it takes so much to surrender EVERYTHING, doesn't it? Even my writing - every last bit of it. The words I use, the places they go, whether or not they are published...

There is so much more research I could have done here, but I hope I've sparked something in you with this word BETACH. Let me know how it speaks to you.

Bonded.

Entrusting

This, (whatever THIS is for you)

Acknowledging

Complete

Homage.

~~~~~

Here's a link to a Hebrew word study on Betach.

Joy is currently looking after recuperating grandsons in Manitoba. When she's not supervising naps and making bland meals, she's writing InScribe blog posts deep into the night. Find more of her joy-infused writing at Scraps of Joy.

 

B is for Breathe by Bob Jones

My word for 2023 is “breathe.”

 

Rather than make resolutions I allow a word to find me. Yah, I don’t choose the word, the word chooses me. Steph Nickel writes about that here.

 

Over the last decade, the word of the year had prophetic effects. They predicted what I would face and could rely on during the next 12 months. In late December, the word “breathe” was continuously on my mind. So, I listened to my soul and embraced the word.

 

Breathing

 

Breathing is a very powerful biblical image. In Genesis God creates humanity from the clay of the earth. Yet the human being is merely a lifeless work of clay pottery until God breathes into the nostrils of the human. It is that first breath that gives life. God’s Spirit is described as breath.

 

One incredible thing about breathing is that you don’t have to think about.

 

The best part is, even when we are not aware of it, that powerful Spirit fills our lives in ways we may never fully know or appreciate. One does not have to be a champion breather to have breath. Neither does one have to be a champion Christian to have God’s Spirit within. Isn’t that freeing?

 

When we are least able to take the time to think of God and God’s presence, just like breathing, God is still right there. If that is reality when we are not thinking about it, imagine the power when we take the time to be deliberate and really give God’s Holy Spirit some serious thought.

 

Breathe. Breathe deep. Fill your lungs with the breath that flows from the One who created you and called you good.

 

Stressed

 

Here’s how my word is helping me. Stress, worry, and fear are triggers that cause us to either speed up or hold our breath. I tend to hold my breath. This stress response happens automatically due to our innate fight, flight, or freeze response.

 

Numerous times in January 2023 I have responded to unexpected stress and setbacks with a simple reminder to breathe. 

 

Just breathe.

 

Thin Air

 

Jill was seven years old when we first met. I was her pastor. Ginger curls reflected the fiery nature within her little girl spirit. Adventure was her mojo. Mountains became molehills for her. Now a Grade 6 teacher, she realized a lifetime dream of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in 2021.

 

As you climb the highest mountain in Africa the air gets thin. Incredibly thin. The higher you go the less you can talk because you have to focus on your breathing. It was one shallow breath after the other, one slow step after the other. She timed her breathing with her steps… a few steps at a time, then a stop to catch her breathing up. Concentrating only on the air drawing in and out of her lungs sustained her when the mountain’s terrain felt impossible.

 

She summited during a blizzard. Oxygen was harder to come by with each step. Ten minutes from the peak she fainted. With each labored inhale and exhale, she understood what it means to just breathe.

 

Trust

 

I love the Message version of Psalm 31:6,7 - “You, God, I trust. I’m leaping and singing in the circle of your love; you saw my pain, you disarmed my tormentors. You didn’t leave me in their clutches but gave me room to breathe.”

 

Breathe. Breathing in response to life’s pained moments is a reminder to trust God. “I trust you God. Things don’t look or feel good. But I trust You.”

 

Breathe. God doesn’t leave us alone. God doesn’t leave us in the clutches of crisis. Life’s tormentors are disarmed.

 

Breathe. The best room in your life is room to breathe.

 

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!” Psalm 150:6      

 

Bob Jones writes to grow hope, inspire people to be real, forge an authentic faith in Jesus, and discover their life purpose. You can follow his writing at REVwords.com
 

B is for Bible by Susan Barclay

 B is for Bible

 

Inspired Word

God-breathed

Teaching

Rebuking

Correcting

Training

 

Within its cover, stories

 

 Rags to riches

The difficult quest

Rebirth

Overcoming

Comedy

Tragedy

The voyage and return

 

Within its stories, conflict        

 

Man versus man

Versus God

Versus nature

Man versus self

Versus technology

Versus fate

 

Within its pages, images

 

 

A kingly authority

A warrior

A lowly peasant

A thief

Fire, clouds, storms at sea

Bread, wine, fish

A crown, a cross

And silver coins

 

The Word is Truth

The Word’s the Way

The Word is Life

The Word is His Story

History

Written for you

And for me

 

Holy Spirit

Breathe on me

Words of life

Loving

Encouraging

Healing

Serving

 

Holy Father

As I read

Help me see

And understand

And model

Teach me to write

And reach

 

Soli Deo Gloria

____________________

For more about Susan Barclay and her writing, please visit her blog: https://susan-barclay.blogspot.com/