She had heard before that “God always leaves a remnant,” but she felt inadequate. “Why me, Lord?” she asked, weeping softly. Of all of the members of her family, her faith was weakest, her spirit the most doubting and the least bold. And so, when she lost them all…when out of them all she lived, she did not understand. She saw so much more that she needed to learn. Hers was a family of devout Christians, her father, Hananiah, having constantly risked his life to preach the gospel, and her mother and siblings just as zealous in their faith. Hadassah loses her entire family, and is sold into slavery. The story starts with cruel action – Jerusalem’s fall. And it is one of the many things that have stuck with me from this series. How Rivers introduced this Character, Hadassah, to us in the first book, is significant.

God prepares you and supplies you with the courage you need to face difficulties when you need it. Also, you don’t need courage ahead of time. Through the character of Hadassah, the answer came: it’s not what you say it’s how you live that has the impact. So I decided to begin the story in AD 69-70 with the chaos and destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. With “A Voice in the Wind,” that question was “How do you live out your faith among family members and friends who are not at all interested in the gospel?” I became fascinated by the early martyrs and how they had the courage to die for their faith.

When Francine Rivers was asked what inspired her to write this Trilogy, her answer was this:Īlmost every story I’ve written since becoming Christian has come from a question relating to a struggle in my own faith walk.

A voice in the wind book