Sunday Thoughts: What Does Devotion Look Like For Creatives?

I remember devotions.

Or rather, I remember through my youth having times of devotion. Sometimes, I’d experience intimacy with God. But, at some point, those times of devotion would give way to an increase in other activities related to school, work, or dating, etc. 

They just never stuck. 

I was scrolling through IG Reels one day and happened upon this one by @inspiredbycharae, an IG account by author Charae Tucker. I had been following her feed for a couple months. For about the same amount of time, I have been sensing with all that is going on with my daughter and so many things I cannot control, a pull back to God. 

I was intrigued by Ms. Tucker’s devotional style. But, the stutter start is real and I can’t say that a history like that doesn’t dampen my desire to begin yet another devotion. I don’t like flakiness in anything but a pie crust...surely not my relationships, let alone my relationship with God. Seeing it in myself is...ugh. Yet, I am human and it happens.

This was sort of the line of conversation that we had at a recent Zoom chat by @letterpdx, a lettering meetup group I follow on IG. The guilt trip that can happen when we set high expectations for ourselves can be self-defeating when trying to begin something new or develop new habits and practices.

But, there is power in devotion and I’ve always believed that. Daniel 6:10 illustrates it nicely.

 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. (Emphasis mine)

Daniel’s devotion extended past his prayer life into how he lived. But, that level of devotion-three times a day-is astounding...And the Bible says, the answers to his prayers were released immediately, as soon as he set himself to seek God. If I was known to be in the same spot every day, three times a day, maybe I’d be easier to get an answer to as well.
I’ve been contemplating relating to God on the basis of His God-ness and not just His goodness and ability to help me in a crisis. But, relationships need to be maintained, and as an introvert, I have a difficult time with that in many of mine. I love that my friends know they can call me when they need an ear...But, if we have to be going out all the time, at some point, I’m tapping out. It took a long time to train them into this understanding-and for them to love me in spite of it. 

But while I now enjoy space when needed in my human relationships, I’m just not sure it works that way with God. It kind of reminds me of that scene in Spanglish where the mother tells her daughter in her broken English, “No space between us!” Maybe not the same attitude. But, the same sentiment.

However, one thing I notice that I have been doing on a very regular basis for a year now is creating. I have been finding a way to draw, paint or make something, whether for work or myself, since the quarantine last year. 

I can work with that.

In an attempt to reconcile a creative practice with my faith, I’ve been reading Called to Create: A Biblical Invitation to Create, Innovate, and Risk, by Jordan Raynor. I’m a little more than halfway through the book and it has been a good read so far. The book makes it clear that while God may have some expectations concerning any creative gifts we use, creativity where God is concerned is still more about the heart condition of the artist and their motives toward service than even what the artist’s practice is. 

Good to know. 

So, I’m wondering if my creative practice, which I find I am able to maintain as a daily habit, can be a way to connect with God on a more regular basis. Surely, if the act of creating is a divine act in itself, then communion with the creator when engaged in it could be related, right?

There are some other creatives that do something akin to devotions, combining their art with their time with God.  Some of them are lettering artists. In Raynor’s book, the reader is introduced to Krystal Whitten, a wife and mother that turned to lettering to memorize scripture. She eventually turned this passion into a career, creating journals and workbooks for bible lettering.

Another well-known lettering artist, Stefan Kunz, also utilizes lettering to deepen his understanding of scripture. You can see and participate in lettering a passage of scripture with him on his YouTube channel here. 

In fact, for Stefan Kunz, he and a few of his lettering friends host the @30DaysOfBibleLettering challenge. I’ve decided I’m going to try it. I’m a little nervous since I’m still working. Showing up for a daily challenge during the school year is a huge challenge for me. But, at this juncture in my life, it’s the consistency in devotion I’m after. If Daniel did it three times a day, surely I can muster one, right? 

Even if I miss the mark of being able to post one every day, if I can make it anywhere near as regular as I’m creating, that’s a win in my book. The fact is, I know anymore that God knew what He was getting when He got me. If I was perfect, I wouldn’t need Him. So, I’ll just take my flawed self and do the best that I can with this challenge. He sees my heart. As long as my motives remain to draw near and I seek that during this time, that’s all that really matters.

They say it takes twenty-one days to create a new habit…

Let’s see what could happen in thirty.