Dipping the Quill Deeper—Sitting Alone, With God

by Eva Marie Everson @EvaMarieEverson

I sit down alone,

Only God is here;

In his presence I open,

I read his books;

And what I thus learn,

I teach. ~~ John Wesley

I recently went away for five days to study God’s Word and to write on a particular focus concerning it, all of which will assemble to be, I hope, my next work of nonfiction. For the better part of each day, I sat with four large books open—three versions of the Bible and one Bible commentary—a yellow-paged, lined legal pad, a pencil, and two pens. I’m not sure why I felt the need for two pens; I just did.

On the fifth day, when I returned home, I commented to my husband that, if I could figure out a way to make a living at it, I believe I would spend the remainder of my days reading and studying God’s Word. Not only do I find the history of it interesting, but also the language, the stories, the truths, the lessons, the inspiration. I cannot point to one thing about it that I love more than the others because all the precious parts form one treasured whole. It is, without a doubt, the single most important book ever collaborated on, ever pieced together, ever printed. “There is no other book as important,” the Reverend Billy Graham once said, “because it is God’s Word—God’s message—to you and to all humanity.”

Reading it, understanding it, and teaching it—whether at the Bible study I’ve conducted for more than 25 years, in a church setting, at a women’s retreat, or within the words and pages of my own work—is critical to me. To my walk withChrist and to my growth in Christ. 

Within those sacred pages, the apostle James wrote: Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1, NIV) As a speaker and most especially as a writer, these words catch and hold my attention. They remind me of the responsibility I have, especially as a Christian writer, that the words I present onto the page are woven together with the thread of not only the truth but also of The Truth. 

So often, as a fiction writer, I hear people say, “I don’t read fiction because it is just made up lies.” Perhaps, but these words bring to mind the scripture from Mark that says, “He [Jesus] taught them many things by parables.” 

Parables are “made up stories.” There was no sower, no lamp on a stand, no prodigal son . . . and so on. Being preached at the people in Jesus’ day didn’t need. Hearing the truth, they did. And the truth came through these works of fiction from the creative mind of the Creator. 

In these times of my studying God’s Word and commentaries, jotting down notes, and then transferring all that to a Word (pardon the pun) doc, I also became keenly aware of the presence of God beside me. I was conscious of the fact that I was not and am not alone nor do I work alone. This, again, brings about a keen sense of responsibility. 

I am also not alone in this. For those of us who write with a greater sense of purpose—the call of God in our hearts to bring truth to a hurting world—we are both privileged and under a great obligation. We will be held accountable. 

But we are not alone.

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Eva Marie Everson is the president of Word Weavers International, the director of Florida Christian Writers Conference, and a frequent speaker at writers retreats across the United States. Her 40th title, DUST, a novel, will release in early March 2021.