Growing up, there was a popular series I became obsessed with: Left Behind. You’ve probably heard of it. Google describes it as a collection of apocalyptic novels centered on Christian eschatology, particularly premillennialist dispensationalism. (That’s a bunch of jargon for end times fiction with the belief that Jesus will come back to earth to reign for a literal thousand years after a literal seven year tribulation occurring after the rapture.)

I absolutely loved this series. So much so that I read all 13 books of the main series, and then a few years later proceeded to read all 40 young adult novellas.

Then I got older. My relationship with God grew, and I experienced more of Him and His presence. I experienced prophecy first hand, saw people get healed, and I realized that God is so much more powerful than I could have ever dreamed of or imagined. It turns out that the God I read about in Acts is still pretty much around in my day and time. This led me to ask myself a curious question: What would Left Behind have been like if the Holy Spirit had been included more?

I understand the perspective from which Left Behind was written and I respect it. After all, none of us will ever truly know what the end times will look like. But what if the Holy Spirit had been allowed more room in that series?

It would change everything! The characters wouldn’t just hide and survive through the entire series, they would be the most dangerous enemies of the Global Community and the Antichrist simply because they would be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Antichrist wouldn’t be the only one with miracle-working power. The possibilities would be endless!

This led me to ask two more questions: As Christians, what if we believed more in God’s power than we believe in the enemy’s power? And as writers and creatives, what if we included the Holy Spirit more in our work?

Let’s dig into the first question.

We Need to Believe In a Bigger God

The truth is that all of us believe the enemy is powerful. We don’t doubt his ability to steal, kill, and destroy. In fact, we live surrounded by the consequences of his power. But what about God’s power? If I asked you: Do you believe God is powerful? I’d bet you that you would say yes. But how deeply do we actually believe this?

John once wrote: “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” – 1 John 4:4 (NIV)

Greater is the one who is in us. That means that for any power the enemy has, God’s power is greater. And God lives in us. Therefore, we need to believe in a bigger God. We need to trust that He can work things out for our good more than we trust that the enemy can mess things up.

I know that I’m guilty of shrinking God and magnifying the devil. And many times I do it because faith and hope are so costly. It’s easier to stop believing in miracles when believing them requires so much hope and courage. It’s easier to stop believing in healing when we haven’t experienced it yet. It’s easier to make God smaller in our minds so that our faith isn’t required to stretch out to uncomfortable limits.

It’s easier, but is it true?

Greater is the one who is in us. It is time to believe that God is who He says He is and He still does what He says He will do! That is real trust. We cannot shrink God to our experience. Rather, we need to expand our faith to the veracity of His character. It’s time to believe in a bigger God and take Him at face value.

We Need To Write Bigger Stories

That leads me to my second question: what if we included the Holy Spirit more in our work?

If our God is bigger and more powerful than the enemy, then why don’t we write bigger stories? The potential is incredible. I believe there is a world of people who need to find courage in stories and art, stories which would move them to step up and grow their faith rather than shrink their God.

Let’s write stories about heroes who find strength from God and vanquish the enemy. Let’s create art that points people to the light that always overcomes the darkness. Let’s make stories that show people who refuse to shrink their belief to fit their negative experiences, but instead grow their courage and expectation to align with the truth.

The world is full of stories where darkness is prominent and powerful. As believers, it’s time we arise to the occasion and write stories where truth and light are so obvious that there is no doubt of God’s greater power.

In the book of Acts, we see all the wild and radical things that mere humans did through the power of the Holy Spirit. They healed the sick, raised the dead, escaped prison, were teleported to preach the Gospel, and performed many signs and wonders. Seriously. God is full of creative miracles and ideas! He could use a handkerchief or shadow to heal. If we invited the Holy Spirit into our creative process more, what could our stories and art look like and what could He do through them?

This is the same Spirit that lives in us today. If we believed it, what would our lives look like? What would our art look like? We have a big God, and it’s time to live boldly and write bigger stories. This is more than wishful thinking; it’s concrete faith. And maybe, just maybe, our art and our lives would be the reason other people would experience Jesus and have an encounter with Him.

Whether you’re a believer who needs greater faith, or a creative person in need of inspiration, my prayer is that God will reveal how wide and long and high and deep His love is for you. You may be experiencing a big enemy in your life, but remember that your God is bigger! Let’s go and show this version of God to the world.

Thanks for reading!
Anna

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Photo by Daria Kraplak on Unsplash