Late Night Inspiration from a Seasoned Writer

A couple of weekend ago I watched a late night interview on PBS. It was a talk show I seldom watch, but I was having problems sleeping.

The guest interviewed was David McCullough. He has been researching and writing historical books for forty years. David McCullough gets inside of the people and events he writes about. He takes time to search out not just how they affected history but how they were influenced by the people and events around them.

I was captivated by his enthusiasm for his subject mater as the host held up book after book and asked McCullough questions. McCullough’s devotion inspired me to be more patient with my own writing. He writes well become he waits to start writing until 50-60% of the research is finished. The shortest time he devoted to one of his numerous published works was three years, the longest ten.

As writers are we as dedicated? Are we willing to spend years researching our topic until we know it inside and out? Maybe we are not pleased with our work because we need to devote more time getting to know our subject mater. We need to take the time to check our facts.

I’m afraid there is a dangerous trend among inspirational writers, myself included. It is easier to define our faith with snappy phrases than it is to study the Bible for depth. Our inspirational writing should be saturated in the Word of God. It should call our readers back to the Scriptures instead of showcasing how clever we think we are as writers.

The next time we write an inspirational piece we need ask ourselves some important questions.

Have we done enough research?

Have we searched out what the Bible says about this topic or are we just shooting arrows at God’s Word to find “proof texts” that sound good?

Are we seeking to pen catchy phrases, or are we seeking to encourage our readers to study Scripture for themselves?

"Great is Thy Faithfulness"

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him.” (Lamentations 3:21-24, NKJV)

Two ladies chatted away over a quiet lunch together in a corner restaurant. A careful observer would have noticed controlled laughter and hushed tears exchanged between the two throughout the course of the meal. After their plates were empty they pushed them aside and lingered in each others’ company.

Conversation kept coming back around to bad news from a doctor’s office, thus the tears. But, how could there also be laughter mingled with the pain?

God’s faithfulness!

The doctor’s report was really bad, but God’s faithfulness brings hope.

How do people go through hard times, uncertainty, and failing health without the Lord?

God’s children look back over their life, remember God’s faithfulness in the past, and rest in the assurance God will continue to be faithful in the future. What does the unbeliever have to cling to?

During the first half of the last century the hymn writer Thomas O. Chisholm wrote:

1. Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father!
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not:
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

Chorus: Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided--
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

2. Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

3. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow—
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Are you struggling through a rough road in your life? Cling to the character of God for your strength. He is faithful.

Do you have a friend who is struggling? Look to your Heavenly Father. His compassions and mercies never fail.

Godly Heritage

But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14, 15 -NKJV)


One of my hobbies is genealogy. It started with my maternal grandmother who loved to tell family stories. I could sit for hours as a child listening. When I grew older I started writing down the stories and searching out facts from exaggerations. Nearly a half century later I'm still filling notebooks and taking care to pass the stories down to my daughters the way my grandmother passed them on to me.

I can't begin to express the excitement I felt a few years ago when a thick manila envelope from the United States War Department Archives of Pension Records arrived. Grandma always told us her grandfather had served in the Union Cavalry during the Civil War. My fingers tingled and my heart nearly skipped a beat as I opened the envelope and began reading photocopies of my great grandfather's actual service records.

Do I get as excited about my spiritual heritage? Do my daughters know that I cherish God as an ever present friend who is always there for me in good times and in bad? Am I teaching them about the heroes of the faith who have gone before? Heroes from Scripture as well as church history? Could someone admonish them to "continue in the things which you have learned" the way Paul admonished Timothy?

Heavenly Father: keep me faithful in passing on a godly heritage to the next generation.