Sometime we read through the stories of the Bible, and we think, ‘oh, that’s nice,’ but we really don’t get much out of them until God draws our attention to them to see their depth in a new way. Such was the case when I began to research the story of Deborah and Barak for my novel, Woman of Light. I studied everything I could find about them from Judges 4 & 5, as well as the Talmud, and commentaries from scholars throughout the ages.
But I’d barely begun writing the novel when it took a turn I wasn’t expecting—to the power of praise. I’ve always loved to sing. I’ve been doing it since I was a tiny tot. But I’d never really thought about that before. People talk a lot about the power of prayer. But of song?
The entire chapter of Judges 5 is a song, the song of Deborah and Barak after the Lord had destroyed both Sisera’s army of nine hundred iron chariots and King Jabin of Canaan himself. This mirrors the songs of Moses and Miriam on their deliverance from Egypt.
When my grandmother and godmother died within three weeks of each other, and then later when my own daughter died, I often found myself singing the Gaither’s song, Because He Lives, as well as other old hymns and Christian songs. They healed my soul in ways I can’t explain. When my husband left me, I actually had pills in my mouth to commit suicide, but instead I put a CD on of a Michael Combs album, and spit the pills out. So the music quite literally saved my life.
But it wasn’t until I started writing this novel that I began to put it together. We can’t be angry or bitter, or despair when we’re praising God. We can’t feel hopeless of the future when our eyes are on Him. There is power in praise. Moses and Miriam knew it. Deborah and Barak knew it. The apostles knew it too. Paul and Silas were singing in the dungeon at midnight.
Why have we lost this sense of the power of praise and see it only for its entertainment value? I don’t know why, but for some reason God impressed it on my heart enough to write a novel all about the power of praise. Thanks for having me here today to tell you about it. God bless.
Back Cover Blurb for Woman of Light
Ehud, Israel’s great judge, is dead. He must have been out of his mind with sickness to prophesy that his granddaughter Deborah would judge Israel. Just who does she think she is? Doesn’t she know Sisera’s iron chariots threaten to annihilate the fledgling nation? And Barak? A poor man who can barely feed his own family. What kind of a God would choose two such improbable people to lead His people to battle?
Links:
Amazon
Token
Not Guilty
Not Ashamed:
http://www.amazon.com/Not-Ashamed-Windspree-2/dp/1938708652/
Woman of Light pre-order link.
Amazon Author’s Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Teresa-Pollard/e/B00HZ3XP02/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1405458559&sr=1-2-ent
HopeSprings
http://www.hopespringsbooks.com/
Teresa’s books on Hope Springs.
http://chalfonthouse.com/hopespringsbooks/hopesprings-authors/teresa-pollard/
WordPress.com BLOG:
http://teresatalkstaboo.wordpress.com/
About the Author:
Teresa Pollard is from Richmond, Virginia, and was saved at a young age. She has a Master of Arts degree in English and Creative Writing from Hollins College, and has served as a Sunday School teacher and children’s worker for most of the last forty years. She is the co-author of Not Guilty and Not Ashamed, and the author of Tokens of Promise and Woman of Light, (due out from HopeSprings Books in October). Married for forty years, she was devastated by divorce and the death of her youngest daughter, but God has blessed her with a new home and another grandson, and she now resides in Dacula, Georgia. She blogs every Tuesday at http://teresatalkstaboo.wordpress.com. Follow her on Facebook at Teresa Pollard, Author.