quiet time – Almost An Author

Be still and know that I am God . . .

That line from Psalm 46:10 is one of my favorite phrases in the Bible and has long inspired me and other creatives. Many years ago, Steven Curtis Chapman turned it into a song, one of his best, and, in another lifetime, I even sang it in church. One of my new favorite groups, Citizen Way, has once again used this verse as inspiration for a terrific tune on their latest album.

It’s one of my favorite scriptures, but it’s a hard one for me to obey. I have never been one to sit still. Instead of a human being, I’ve been more of a human doing. I’m always on the go, flitting from one task to another. Even in my job as a community college professor, I teach at three different campus sites, so I’m never stationary at one place for too long.

Proof that God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, He has called me, Mr. Fidgety-Can’t-Sit-Still-for-Too-Long to be a writer.

Huh? Doesn’t writing require extensive B-I-C (Butt-In-Chair) time?

Yes, it does, and I have managed to calm myself long enough to achieve several publications, all with God’s help and direction. But nothing could have prepared me for this winter.

Right around Christmas 2019, I developed a foot problem. And then a knee problem on the same side. After numerous doctor’s visits and tests, I was diagnosed with some issues that could be taken care of . . . with extensive bedrest.

Say what? Bedrest? Me, lying still for hours and hours? What’s up, God?

I don’t have all the answers, but I have found God is using this time to teach me to be still, to hear from Him. And, let me tell you, it’s hard.

In the midst of the trial, I realized, in the hustle and bustle of life, I had forgotten how to be still. With no other choice, I am re-learning how to be quiet before Him. If you know me and how loud I am, you are laughing right now.

I don’t know what fruit will become of this down time, but I am confident God has a plan and He knows what He’s doing. Who knows? Maybe I’ll even write something.

Carlton Hughes wears many hats. By day, he’s a professor of communication at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he does object lessons and songs with motions as Children’s Pastor of Lynch Church of God. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including Chicken Soup for the Soul and several devotional books from Worthy Publishing—Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. Carlton and his wife Kathy have two sons, Noah and Ethan, both of whom recently flew out of the nest, and a daughter-in-law, Kersyn. He is on the planning committee for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference and is a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas Child. He is represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary Agency. His book Adventures in Fatherhood, a 60-day devotional co-authored with Holland Webb, will release in April 2020 from Worthy/Ellie Claire.

Better Understand God’s Instruction — Try Triangulation

As a Christian writer in your life or in your writing it is not merely about what you want to say or do. You are an ambassador of Christ. You are a soldier in His command. Therefore, you should be seeking Him consistently, walking in the Spirit so that you know His instructions.

I have no doubt that you are doing this, but being certain we are understanding the Spirit’s guidance is not always that easy. We can hear His voice. We can know that voice as we read in John 10. This is not so much a science, but is an art. It is something that is developed over time. Hearing God’s voice and being certain it is something you can continue to do better.

One way you could do this better is through triangulation.

I highly doubt you have heard this term in a sermon, but maybe you have heard it in an overly technical explanation about your cell phone or a GPS.

I grew up fishing on a local lake. One side of that lake was wide-open with no apparent landmarks on the surface, but underneath there were some serious honey-holes. The trick became finding those spots again after catching fish there the trip before. So to help find those spots we would locate a landmark on the shore. For example, we might chose to line up with the old concrete plant’s smokestack.

The issue would be the smokestack might put us close to the fishing hole, but not exactly. We could be in a three hundred yard circle of the key spot that was no bigger than a bucket. If we added another landmark then we would get closer. So maybe the smokestack on the east and the fourth buoy in the south. Those landmarks would get us close, but still not exactly where we wanted to be, but three landmarks put us exactly where we needed to be. The smokestack on the east, the fourth buoy in the south, and the boat ramp to the west — and we would find that exact spot. The three points of reference created a triangle.

Now days we don’t work so hard. The honey-hole is marked in our GPS and we can go right to it. The reason the GPS works so well is not because a signal from one satellite is locating us, but there are signals from at least three. The GPS uses the same principle of triangulation.

So now back to us hearing God’s voice. How many points of reference are you using to determine His instructions to you?

God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us, through His Word, through circumstances, and through other believers. All though through each source of His voice we can know all we need to know, it can be easy to misinterpret. But if we are consistently allowing multiple avenues in which for His voice to speak into our lives, when they line up we can be certain we are hearing clearly.

Each day as I have my “quiet time” with the Lord I don’t rely on just one avenue, but I try to allow for triangulation. I have a prayer journal in which I write my morning prayer and I write down what I feel the Spirit may be speaking to me. I also list circumstances that I believe may be important in determining His Will. So that is the point of reference of the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

During my morning quiet time I read a portion of Scripture. This is a point of reference from His Word. I also try to find a reading plan that someone else has designed that way each day’s reading is objective. If left to me to pick passages I am going to consistently go to Jeremiah 29:11 and dream of that next book contract.

I also do one or two devotional type study books. This I refer to as my teacher point of reference. I am letting God use a teacher to speak into my life. I try to do two such books at a time. I like to have one that is more inspirational and then one that is more doctrine focused. I say a fun one and a boring one.

You may say all this is over kill, but by having usually four avenues for God to speak into my life if they all line up in some way then I feel with certainty I am hearing correctly. Now they don’t always line up, but when they do — triangulation works and I better understand God’s instruction.