El Roi -- Part Two

Part two of my discussion of El Roi consists of how this particular name of God has affected my writing. If you missed the first part, click here.

I'm currently working on a medieval fantasy trilogy and have been for about four years. When creating my story-world for the trilogy, I needed a name for God. As I was going through my names of God devotional by Ann Spangler. El Roi was the second entry – for good reason – and I never flipped a page past that.

Here is a short segment on my trilogy, to help better understand the rest of this post.

Due to the wicked king's new proclamation, Areli suddenly finds himself an orphan. Blaming himself for the tragedy, Areli flees to the mountains, resolved to spend the rest of his life as an outcast living like an animal in a cave. All that changes when El Roi speaks to Areli, asking him to free the faithful believers that are held prisoner and awaiting death in dark dungeons. To rescue them, he must find four keys and resist their strength-sapping powers.

In obedience to his Creator, Areli, who is joined by three others, sets out across the four kingdoms of Illuhe. However, the most impossible part of this perilous quest is not in locating the keys, but in finding the strength to carry them. In order to defy the odds and the vile monsters set against him, Areli must have courage, endurance, and strength beyond which his physical body contains.

El Roi was simply the perfect name. Areli, my main character, has a Hebrew name, it made sense that God would too. I did, however, choose to change the pronunciation of 'El Roi' for ease of reading.

The meaning – The God Who Sees Me – fits in perfectly since the trilogy is

about how God sees the weak, the orphaned, the outcast, and helps them and raises them up to his purpose. My characters find hope in the God Who sees them in their plight, just as I find hope in the God who sees me.

But because God sees us always, we cannot escape from him. Areli and some of his companions try their best to run from El Roi who is calling them to do monumental things, and they must learn that God is large enough to defeat the evil that opposes him and can use them to do amazing things.

Just like God asked Hagar to return and submit to Sarai, Areli is called my El Roi to turn and face his weaknesses and overcome them.

The name of El Roi, not only affected my personal life, but it also gave a new meaning to my writing and story-world. It is such a beautiful name with a beautiful meaning. Hagar chose the perfect name to represent Him.