Selling Her Soul and Buying It Back -- Terri Blackstock's Story of Redemption

“From 1983 to 1995, I wrote romance novels and women’s fiction for publishers such as Harlequin, Silhouette, Dell, and Harper Collins,” writes Terri Blackstock.  “I came under intense conviction at the end of that period, and decided to leave that career to write for the Christian market. I believed God had given me a unique gift as a storyteller, and that I hadn’t been using that gift as He intended.”

Blackstock, one of the most popular suspense novelists of Christian publishing, is one of my heroines. A New York Times bestselling author with sales of more than 6 million copies, Terri took a stand for right, even though it could have cost her her career.

Blackstock had written under a pen name and established a loyal following and seemingly unending book contracts when God convicted her heart that she wasn’t using her gift in a way that glorified God. She realized, like Paul, that she was on the Damascus Road. God was calling her to live sold out to him, and saying yes could mean turning her back on her fame, fortune, and following. 

Blackstock said “Yes.” 

“I started over with a Christian publisher, writing suspense instead of romance, and began using my real name—Terri Blackstock. I literally had to start over from scratch building my readership . . ." Blackstock says, “but it was totally worth it to me . . .” She realized  the truth of Mark 8:36, “For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” 

As believers, we encounter this same truth as we mature in our Christian lives. Every day we make choices, and these choices either glorify God or dishonor him.

I’ve watched other believers make similar hard decisions. Truett Cathy’s Chick Fil A restaurants drew a nationwide attack as they defended the biblical definition of marriage. Hobby Lobby and CEO David Green sued the United States over the contraceptive mandate, because paying for insurance that covers emergency contraceptives violates their religious beliefs. "We simply cannot abandon our religious beliefs," he says, "to comply with this mandate." 

On a smaller scale, I’ve seen local restaurant owners come to faith in Christ and refuse to sell alcohol, business owners refund money they had wrongly received, and store employees risk losing their jobs because they will not to lie to customers.

Martyred missionary Jim Elliot is famous for saying, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” There’s nothing this world has to offer that compares to hearing God’s, “Well done,” and feeling his smile. I might point out, too, as Blackstock, Cathy, and Green have demonstrated, that “the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him” (2 Chr. 16:9).

Is there an area of your Christian life where you are tempted to compromise? Is there a sacred cow you’re unwilling to surrender? A relationship? A habit? A secret sin? We can never move forward with God until we surrender this area of our lives to him in faith and trust, and acknowledge that his will is best.

Join the conversation. Leave a comment below sharing something you chose to surrender to God, and what happened. I love to hear your faith stories. 

For more information about Terri Blackstock, you can visit her website, http://www.terriblackstock.com/.

If you enjoyed this post, you might enjoy "All Noble Things Are Difficult."

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