Jesus the Word of God: : The Giver of Treasures in Darkness

From Edie: Audrey Frank shares how Jesus, the Word of God, gives writers treasures in darkness, turning trials into hope, purpose, and words that point others to Him.

Jesus the Word of God: The Giver of Treasures in Darkness

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden wealth of secret places, so that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name (Isaiah 45:3, NASB)

“In 1637, out of much trouble of mind, the Scottish minister Rutherford wrote to a friend: It is possible to gather gold, where it may be had, with moonlight.

This book is written to any who are walking in difficult places and who care to gather that gold.”

—the dedication page of Gold by Moonlight, by Amy Carmichael 

There is treasure in the darkness. In the blackest night, a light shines. If we care to, we can gather gold by moonlight.

Jesus the Word of God: When Walls Stand Between Writers and Faith

From Edie: Audrey Frank shares how Jesus the Word of God meets writers beyond fear, doubt, and rejection, bringing peace, faith, and courage through every wall that stands in the way.

Jesus the Word of God: When Walls Stand Between Writers and Faith

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

This year, we are focusing on one Spiritual Practice for Writers: Going to the Word for our words. (Links to all previous posts in the series are below.)

Eight days later the disciples were again together in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and examine my hands. Extend your hand and put it into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe.” Thomas replied to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:26-28)

Jesus the Word of God, The Power of Resurrection for Writers

From Edie: Discover how the resurrection of Jesus brings hope, healing, and new life to writers. Learn how to rise from creative darkness and trust God with your words and calling.

Jesus the Word of God: The Power of Resurrection for Writers

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

He is not here, for he has been raised, just as he said. Come and see the place where he was lying. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead. He is going ahead of you into Galilee. You will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you!” So they left the tomb quickly, with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. But Jesus met them, saying, “Greetings!” They came to him, held on to his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. They will see me there” (Matthew 28:6-10, NET)

Jesus the Word of God speaks to writers through Resurrection.

Jesus the Word of God: Light for Writers

From Edie: Explore the powerful biblical theme of light from Genesis to John, and discover how Jesus—the Word and the Light—shapes our stories. Be inspired as a Christian writer to shine truth, hope, and healing into the darkness through your words.

Jesus the Word of God: Light

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it (John 1:1-5, NET).

Light is woven like silver thread throughout the tapestry of the Bible Story. In the beginning, the Light took up His needle and pierced the darkness with the first sparkling strand. Let there be light became light that was good (Genesis 1:4), and the light was given dominion over darkness (Genesis 1:16-18). The light that ruled in God’s name became light in the dark to God’s people, even when a darkness so thick it could be felt came upon the Egyptians (Exodus 10:21-23). As they wandered through the wilderness, free from slavery yet in need of guidance, the light became a pillar of fire to lead them (Exodus 13:21). God’s presence is the thread; He is the Light of our lives. The presence of God in the darkness illuminates all of time.

God’s people have long understood that God and light are one and the same. The Psalmist called the Lord his light and his salvation (Psalm 27:1). Throughout the Old Testament, the Light is repeatedly declared. He is Jesus, pre-incarnate, there all along. Jesus is both the Word of God and the Light of God. He is the Life and Light of humanity.

The darkness is not dark to Him (Psalm 139:11-12). 

Jesus embodies the story of every person, and through His story written in light, plunged into the darkness of death, bursting through the sunrise of resurrection, He sheds light on all our stories.

The Word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, wrote the Psalmist in Psalm 119:105. Jesus, the Word who is fully God as described in John 1, is that Lamp.

With Jesus as our Lamp, we Christian writers have the potential to write light words. We can shed light on the stories of those chained in the darkness of depression, sickness, and despair. It is possible for us to punch our pens into the tapestry of trauma and weave light in the darkness. 

Let’s write stories by the light of the Lamp today, beloved.

Lord, my light and my salvation, use my writing to bring light to the darkness. Amen.

TWEETABLE

Jesus the Word of God: Light fro Writers from @AudreyCFrank on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Don't miss the other posts in this series!

January: Going to the Word for Our Words: Understanding the Source and Power of Our Words

February: Jesus the Word of God: How the Creator Shapes Our Words as Christian Writers

March: Jesus the Word of God: Light for Writers

April: Jesus the Word of God, The Power of Resurrection for Writers

June: Jesus the Word of God: When Walls Stand Between Writers and Faith

July: Jesus the Word of God: The Giver of Treasures in Darkness

August: He Speaks to Us as We Follow Him

Audrey Frank is an author, speaker, and storyteller. The stories she shares are brave and true. They give voice to those whose words are silenced by shame, the hard things in life that don’t make sense, and the losses that leave us wondering if we will survive. Audrey and her family have spent over twenty years living and working among different cultures and world views, and she has found that God’s story of redemption spans every geography and culture. He is the God of Instead, giving honor instead of shame, gladness instead of mourning, hope instead of despair. Although she has three different degrees in communication and intercultural studies, Audrey’s greatest credential is that she is known and loved by the One who made her.

Audrey is the author of Covered Glory: The Face of Honor and Shame in the Muslim World (Harvest House Publishers), an outpouring of Audrey’s heart to introduce others to the God of Instead. Shame is not unique to the developing world, the plight of the women behind veils, young girls trafficked across borders; shame is lurking in hearts everywhere. Through powerful stories from women around the world, Covered Glory illuminates the power of the Gospel to remove shame, giving honor instead. Available at favorite booksellers: BARNES & NOBLE, BOOKS A MILLION, AMAZON.

Jesus the Word of God: How the Creator Shapes Our Words as Christian Writers

From Edie: Jesus is the Word and the Creator. Discover how going to Him for our words shapes Christian writers to bring light, clarity, and hope into the world.

Jesus the Word of God: How the Creator Shapes Our Words as Christian Writers

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created (John 1:1-3).

This year, we are taking the first Sunday of each month to focus on one Spiritual Practice for Christian Writers: going to the Word for our words. To read last month’s edition, click here.

Jesus is the Word. He is also the Creator. He was there in the beginning, and all creative craft comes from Him. Words were His chosen medium, and with them He created the heavens and the earth. He made them with words.

This deserves a holy pause.

Going to the Word for Our Words: Understanding the Source and Power of Our Words

From Edie: A reflective foundation for Christian writers, exploring Jesus as the Word and the source of all language—inviting writers to understand the power of words and root their writing in Him.

Going to the Word for Our Words: Understanding the Source and Power of Our Words

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God. The Word was with God in the beginning (John 1:1-2).

Last year, we looked at Spiritual Practices For Writers. Join me in 2026 as we focus on just one practice all year long: going to the Word for our words. But first, who is “the Word”? What is the origin of this great power we wield called words?

As we stand on the threshold of a new year, peer with me into the mysterious beginning of it all. That pen you hold, the MacBook you’ve been saving for, all started here.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Joy

From Edie: Discover how the spiritual practice of joy begins with seeking shelter in God. This reflection for writers explores the Christmas story, the theme of divine refuge, and how resting in God’s presence renews creativity, clarity, and purpose. A gentle invitation for writers to create from a place of joy and holy shelter.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Joy

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

But may all who take shelter in you be happy. May they continually shout for joy. Shelter them so that those who are loyal to you may rejoice. Certainly you reward the godly, LORD. Like a shield you protect them in your good favor (Psalm 5:11-12).

From the start, the story of Christmas is a story of sheltering. God sought a shelter for His Son, and found it in the pure heart and womb of the virgin girl named Mary. Mary and her holy child needed shelter from the cultural consequences of shame, and Joseph chose not to withdraw his name and his promise, marrying her instead of quietly divorcing her. On the night of His birth, Jesus and His faithful parents needed shelter, and a compassionate heart defied societal edicts by offering a stable. Some tree, somewhere, was cut down, hewed into a manger, and became the holy shelter of the newborn Messiah. Joy to the world!

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Thanksgiving

From Edie: Discover how cultivating gratitude can transform your writing life. In Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Thanksgiving, learn how giving thanks reduces anxiety, renews creativity, and deepens your connection with God as you create.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Thanksgiving

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

For Mom, with love.

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”(Luke 17:1-19, NIV)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV).

I have practiced making my mother’s pumpkin pie squares for thirty years. I’ve literally driven through African rivers to find a grocer who had imported pumpkins from the rich red soil of the Ngong Hills (hello, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford). I’ve prepared Mom’s delightful dish in a mud hut and baked it inside a Kenyan pot over an open fire. I’ve practiced making her legacy Thanksgiving dish in Morocco, where pumpkins grow beside lakes the color of aquamarine gemstones. I’ve shortcut the process in England, bouncing a baby on my hip while steaming pumpkin mercifully pre-peeled and chopped by a local farmer. This year, I’m practicing the craft of pumpkin pie squares in Italy, despite the skeptical comments of my pumpkin-connoisseur Italian chef friend, who makes the best pumpkin ravioli this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Thinking Excellent Thoughts

From Edie: Christian writers are called to think on what is true, pure, lovely, and praiseworthy. Discover how Philippians 4:8 shapes your thoughts and your words.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Thinking Excellent Thoughts

by Audre Frank @AudreyCFrank

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things (Philippians 4:8).

The word popcorn blinked at me from the browser window, casting flickers across the dark living room wall. I was up late in a country far from home, feeling grouchy because there was no popcorn to be found for my VPN-allowed streaming movie. (A VPN is a Virtual Private Network setting that allows a secure connection in places where the internet is anything but secure.) Why I chose to search for popcorn online when there was no Glovo or Instacart, I have no idea. Chalk it up to culture shock and homesickness after midnight.

The next day, I opened my laptop only to discover advertisements for loose-kernel popcorn, microwave popcorn, and air-poppers parading across the screen. To make my homesickness worse, the ads were all for Atlanta, Georgia, the address I’d selected for my VPN the night before. I was far from Atlanta and even farther from Walmart or Amazon.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Work

From Edie: Writing with enthusiasm transforms our work. Audrey shows us how to learn how to embrace Colossians 3:23–24 and write from the soul for God’s glory and eternal reward.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Work

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people, because you know that you will receive your inheritance from the Lord as the reward. Serve the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24, NET).

I was trudging through the fourth straight hour of research into the unreached, unengaged people groups in North Africa. Unreached and unengaged mean there are no Christians and no viable church in a given population. In just one North African country, there are 34 unreached, unengaged people groups, equaling over 40 million people.

This year, I committed to the Lord that I would send a prayer prompt every week to ramp up prayer for this part of the world.

As I finished the edits on the last one, I noticed how irritable I had become. Riotous thoughts marched through my stinking heart. Thoughts like, “I could be doing writing that pays me for my four hours.” (Prideful! Who said anyone would pay me for my writing?)

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Humility

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

For my mentor, and my family, thank you.

Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself (Philippians 2:3, NET).

I have not always practiced humility, but I have practiced seeking mentors to help me become skilled at what God asks me to do.

I can’t remember when I did not write. It was my creative castle once I could hold a crayon, then as I grew older, it became my chapel where I worshipped God in private, pen in hand. I never planned to share my words beyond that sacred, secret space.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Proclaiming for Writers

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:5-6, ESV).

Like the slow start of a rollercoaster groaning up the first rise, the mint man's voice began. Basal and resonant, it clicked, rolled, and climbed until it reached a crescendo and flew high and sweet through the air.

Eeeeeeeeeeee-yeppp! Naaaaaaaaaa-a'nahhhhh!

Squeals of laughter rang out as my two little boys clamored to put on their slippers and run into the street to catch the mint man. His humble cart was laden with fresh, fragrant bunches of emerald-green mint. We could not have tea without it.

The mint man was one of a long line of proclaimers. He nobly listed more than ten generations of proclaimers, ending with a twinkle as he proudly introduced his successor, a little boy who followed shyly behind. The mint man's houseful of daughters did not break the ancestral chain—instead, the oldest gave him a grandson to carry on the tradition.

We never lacked mint, thanks to our faithful proclaimer.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Perseverance

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as God has shown us mercy, we do not become discouraged (2 Corinthians 4:1, NET).

I learned the practice of perseverance on my great-grandmother’s farm. Summer cherry-picking was an elaborate cousin operation. Year after year, I begged to be part of the scheme, but as the youngest and scrawniest, I was not considered essential to either the picking or the reward.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Discipline

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

The one who neglects discipline ends up in poverty and shame, but the one who accepts reproof is honored. A desire fulfilled will be sweet to the soul… (Proverbs 13:18, 19a)

If you practice long enough, discipline leads to honor. 

The honorable Maasai know about this. They live among Africa’s largest lion population in the great Serengeti plains. This Tanzanian savannah stretches across approximately 12,000 square miles. Natural runners, the Maasai run its length and breadth, practicing the discipline it takes to survive.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Waiting

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

Join me the first Sunday of each month this year as we examine twelve spiritual practices for writers. Links for each successive month are found at the end of the post.

Patiently wait for God alone, my soul! For he is the one who gives me hope (Psalm 62:5, NET).

We writers do a lot of waiting.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Hoping

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

Join me the first Sunday of each month this year as we examine twelve spiritual practices for writers.

So, since we have such a hope, we act with great confidence (2 Corinthians 3:12, CEB).

What is the Christian writer’s hope?

We must consider our hope in the context of our qualification.

Some of us have degrees in journalism, creative writing, or publishing. Others have a laptop and a dream. Some writers are published; some are not. What qualifies the writer who follows Jesus?

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Trusting

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

Join me the first Sunday of each month this year as we examine twelve spiritual practices for writers.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lead not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

There is a kind of prayer called a prayer of intention. It is the practice of presenting oneself to the Lord and setting one’s intention toward Him in a specific way each day. The prayer of intention helps us practice trusting God on the writing journey.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Planning

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

Join me on the first Sunday of each month this year as we examine twelve spiritual practices for writers.

A person plans his course, but the LORD directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9).

If practice truly makes perfect, I should be a perfect planner by now. But after a lifetime of making careful plans, executing them perfectly escapes me.

Even With Your Writing, Nothing Will Be Impossible

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:37

I have been on a steep unlearning curve since I moved to Italy. I had to unlearn American driving rules to pass the Italian driving exam. I am unlearning English syntax and grammar as I begin writing in Italian. The arrangement of lines on a road and commas on a page are annoyingly essential to getting where I want to go and conveying the meaning I intend.

In Luke 1:37 the Greek phrase πᾶν ῥῆμα (pan rhēma) is combined with a negation and translated as “nothing.” This syntax gives the phrase an emphatic position, making it the primary lesson in the entire discussion. This particular arrangement of words is a call for faith. 

A Pattern on the Threshold for Writers, Part 2

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

Go here to read last month’s Part One: A Pattern on the Threshold for Writers 

Tempted in the Wilderness

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1).

There is an observable pattern in the lives of writers who stand on the threshold of God’s calling and purpose. Jesus asks us only to walk where He first has. On the eve of His public ministry, Jesus was compelled by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted.