Penchant Toward Drama

By Shirley E. Gould

As writers, we create drama, set the scene and allow it to play out to bring our characters through the circumstances that threaten their happily-ever-after ending. It’s what we do when we create stories that grip our readers and take them on a journey through our prose. We study our craft to perfect our work, giving our readers an enjoyable read.

In studying dramatic stories in the scriptures, I see that our God has a penchant for drama too. If you delve into the miraculous stories you’ll witness the dramatic as it plays out time and again. We read about a bush that was on fire but didn’t burn up and three Hebrews men who were thrown into a fiery furnace and only the ropes that bound them burned. They didn’t have the smell of smoke on them. Now that’s dramatic.

Peter walking on the water to Jesus is a great story. In the middle of a fierce storm he steps out of the boat and walks to Jesus. The waves are high, soaking his robes and his long hair, he starts to sink, but Jesus saves him. They walk back to the boat through high wind and waves with the storm still raging. Then the Lord calms the storm. He loves drama. He wants us to know that no matter how bad the storms are that we face, if we have Him on our boat/in our lives, we’re not going down—we’re going to make it to the other side.

When Pharaoh and his army were chasing Moses and the children of Israel, God opens the Red Sea and they cross on dry ground. What a miracle. Can you see the sharks, whales and fish watching as six-hundred thousand men plus women and children walk by—what a great scene.

The Israelites were afraid. Moses told them…

Do not be afraid.  Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still. Exodus 14:13

When Pharaoh and his army crossed the Red Sea behind them, God caused wheels to fall off the chariots to confuse them and make their pursuit more difficult. Then—when Pharaoh is close to reaching the Israelites, when the last of his army had stepped onto the bottom of the Red Sea, when Moses could see the whites of their eyes—then, God caused the water to bury them alive.

I’m telling you, our God has a penchant for drama and being made in His image, we have a bit of that is each of us. It’s our job to stir that up and take advantage of this inherited ability to be creative like our Heavenly Father has proven Himself to be. In writing Christian Fiction, we must pray about our manuscripts, our stories. We have the opportunity to use our ingrained penchant for drama to point our readers to the Lord who delights in stepping into the trials of our lives—to carry us, provide for us, heal us and see us through till the storm passes by.

It’s what we are called to do…

Shirley E. Gould is an inspirational speaker, an African missionary and a freelance journalist. She’s founder of Kenya’s Kids Home for Street Children in Kenya, East Africa. Shirley has written articles and newsletters for twenty years and is presently writing Christian Fiction novels. She lives in the Nashville, Tennessee area.