by Angela Ruth Strong, @AngelaRStrong

An old friend recently questioned a God who would allow all the firstborns of the Egyptians to be slain as one of the twelve plagues. That’s a hard one for me too. I told her this, and I told her I believe whenever there is something I don’t like in scripture, it’s an area where God wants to teach me.

So as I was struggling to understand, I stumbled upon Psalm 78. Verse 34 says, “Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again.”

There’s a motive. And I’ve seen the truth in it. Tragedy brings people together. Heartbreak forces us to find a healer.

But it’s a tough pill to swallow. Like why can’t God get our attention in a less painful way?

Rewind Psalm 78 to the beginning.

Vs. 3: “I will open my mouth in parables.”

Vs. 4: “We will tell the next generation.”

Vs. 6: “And they in turn would tell their children.”

Vs. 7: “Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds.”

There’s the less painful way. It’s God’s plan for us.

He’s designed us to tell stories. He’s called us to testify. We are to share our experiences so that those coming after us can learn from our heartache rather than their own.

This is why the story of the Exodus is repeated over and over in the Bible. It’s an illustration we can learn from. Readers see both the benefit of following the Lord’s direction and the consequences going their own way. God’s offering an invitation. We are to tell others because it has the power to change the world.

If you don’t like tragedy and heartbreak either, let’s do something about it. 

God’s way is story. Which is why it should be our way too.

 

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Hero Debut

Gemma Bennett is the leading lady of her own life, and her true love is writing screenplays. With her trusty pink notebook in hand, she signs up for the Citizen’s Safety Academy to research her newest blockbuster hope, a rom-com with a police officer as the hero. And the fact that the handsome and heroic Lieutenant Karson Zellner is the one leading the training? Well, who can blame her for wanting to spend evenings with the man she swooned over months ago when he responded to a call at her apartment?

Karson already has his fair share of problems before Gemma shows up, and he’s not exactly a fan of the ditzy blonde who can’t seem to stay out of trouble. The last thing he needs is a damsel in distress to rescue; there are plenty of people in real need of his help. The fact that she seems to think his job makes him a superhero is just one more strike against her. This isn’t a movie, and he feels like the furthest thing from a leading man.

Gemma can’t seem to stop doing the worst, most embarrassing things at just the wrong time. And as time goes on, Gemma begins to realize that the scripts for a perfect screenplay and a real-life happily-ever-after are two very different things. Can she step out of her own way to find the hero her story needs?

Angela Ruth Strong survived breast cancer, works as a flight attendant, and uses her own crazy life experiences as inspiration for the stories she writes. Her books have earned TOP PICK in Romantic Times, been nominated for a Christy, won the Cascade Award, and become Amazon bestsellers. She and her husband also got to play extras when her novel Finding Love in Big Sky was adapted for film. To help aspiring authors, Angela started IDAhope Writers where she lives in Idaho. Visit her at www.angelaruthstrong.com.