A key component of the creative life is willingness to change direction. I’m not talking about flip-flopping and running in indecisive circles, rather the readiness to assess the situation and make changes as required. 

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We’ve been touching on some really uncomfortable subjects in this series. We’ve been drawing from Genesis Chapter 26 and talking about, like taking some lessons and some principles for that to expound on the entrepreneurial creative journey that many of us are on together. And I’m going to continue down that way now. Honestly, I promise you, this journey has a happy ever after, just in case you were wondering, but I want to talk about something else that is not quite as unpopular as rejection, but nevertheless still just as challenging sometimes. And that is change. Some people embrace change, some people are really averse to change. But a key component of the creative life is often a willingness to change direction. And by that, I’m not talking about just flip flopping and running in indecisive circles, rather a readiness to assess our situation and make the changes that are required, obviously in consultation with the Holy Ghost. And sometimes we can get very stuck on certain things and not realise that loosening our grip a little may be exactly the answer to help us move forward. Sometimes pushing harder, working harder, whipping the horse is not really going to get you over the line.

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Sometimes we’ve got to get out of the saddle and really give consideration to okay, that may have been good for that leg of the journey, but maybe there’s a different mode of transport that’s going to take me the next step. Maybe I need to change my strategy here for this next leg of the journey. If an idea doesn’t work out, being willing to assess the situation and ask the Holy Ghost, what needs to change is an important skill that we learn. And being stubbornly stuck on outcomes can sometimes be a strength. Obviously, that pushes us through resistance, but it can also be a weakness if our heart is not sensitive all the while to the possibility that maybe there’s a better or a different way to approach things. And that’s why this wonderful work and work that we have been invited into with God is not just a simple kind of five step. You tick the boxes. It’s not just a checklist, it’s a relationship. And with every step and every Lee of the journey and every nuance of our growth, we have to be sensitive. My wife, Larna, when we used to have differences, which we have had over the years, at times she would come out with a statement that used to be a complete mystery to me and was like, just so wound me up.

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She would say, Honey, it’s a heart issue. I didn’t want it’s a heart issue. I wanted something that I could say, do this, do step one, two, three, and everything will be resolved. But instead it was a heart issue. Oh, Lord, what do I do with that? It required me to go to a place where I connected with something deeper than just the practicalities of what was before me. And I believe it’s the same with us because our creative and even our business life as creatives. I’m not saying this for everything. I mean, if a factory works a certain way, you press a button at one end, it goes through and something pops out the other end. But let’s face it, the creative life is not like that. Sure, there are principles that we can put into place. Sure, there are certain things that we can learn and apply, and we should. But at the end of the day, the creative life is one that is much more fluid and much more flexible than that. And I guess in some ways a little less tangible as to what is required at any given stage or step of the journey.

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So being sensitive is so important and being willing to change. I love this. Here in Genesis 26, we read verse 16. Last time where I spoke about rejection, Abimillak said to Isaac, Go from us, get away. We don’t want you around here anymore. Like, just like flat out rejection. But then we read in verse 17, and I’m glad that this is written here. Isaac departed fence. Isaac moved on from there. He didn’t get stuck in that place of rejection. He didn’t get stuck in that place where he felt like he had failed. He didn’t get stuck in a place of no one likes me, no one wants me. My work is not good enough, I’m not good enough, or whatever other lies the devil may want a plaster on your heart for all of your earthly life. No. Isaac departed since he moved on from feeling rejected. He moved on and away from feeling unwanted. And there are, of course, times to stand our ground and stay, but there are also times to go. This was not a stand and stay moment for Isaac. He was fluid and flexible enough to move and ready to just dig again if necessary.

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He never wavered from his overall goals, but he realised that there were a number of different ways to get there. And the creative life can be like that. We’re going to try different things. Oftentimes we fail forward, as John Maxwell once coined that phrase. I thought that was great, man fail forward. Yes, I can relate to that. We kind of stumble oftentimes into success. You hear many of the voices and read many of the stories of those who are considered, I guess, successful now, but somewhere in their backstory is always a not that I believe in fate or fortune, but you’ll understand what I’m saying. There’s generally a fortunate accident. They tried something and it worked. Wow. And then they built this huge Empire off of that fortunate accident. Something actually worked. Praise Jesus. And then from that place, they learn to share that story and share that value and build up on that value to help others walk into similar experiences. But let’s not be caught up in the Lee that if something didn’t work quite the way we wanted, that’s the end of the story. It’s literally, it is a page turn to the next chapter, and all of the lessons learned in the previous chapters spill into the new one and provide a foundation.

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Yesterday’s ceiling is today’s floor for me. This in Isaac’s journey here as we know, I find it a great picture of entrepreneurial creativity. We’ll pitch our tent when the water is flowing and the work is working, everything’s happening. But I do want to note this. Isaac pitched a tent. He wasn’t laying 100 foot foundations and erecting a tower in his own honour. We are, however successful we may be, whatever stage of the journey we’re on, we are pilgrims. We’re passing through. And even if the Lord is pleased to prosper us and prosper the work of our hands, it really does behave us to dwell lightly in the ways of the world and weigh heavy in the heavenly world, to be eternity minded in all that we do. And a part of that is being ready to innovate to iterate, to move, to change. It is an entrepreneurial essential. It’s a creative essential. Guy called Jimmy Dean just did a search for some quotes on change, and this chap, Jimmy Dean said, I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sales to always reach my destination. And I think that that sums up the attitude that will carry you forward in times of change and challenge.

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Isaac’s plan may have been scuppered to some degree. He was told to get out of the land he’d settled in, where he dug the Wells, where his life appeared to be flourishing. But even when he was driven out, he knew that God’s plan for him was not in the hands of men. It wasn’t tied to that specific place and that specific way of doing things. And we see a similar attitude in Abraham, Isaac’s father in Genesis chapter 13. When he and Lot parted ways to Abraham and Lot, their herdsmen were in conflict with one another and striving with one another. And Abraham said, Lot, you go whichever way you choose and our head in the opposite direction, even though he was the senior of that transaction, if you like. He saw no compulsion to grab the best pastures because his trust wasn’t in the Earth. It was anchored in heaven’s blessing. It was anchored in the Covenant that he had. So even if you have to change direction, even if you have to some degree divert, even if you have to look at what you’re doing and say, look, this is not working. I need to hear from heaven and find out what’s right for this season.

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It’s not a failure because your success ultimately is not rooted in this planet, is not rooted in just the earthly successes and accolades that we like to stack up so we can brag on our social media or wherever else you might find goal of that parade. It’s actually real rewards are found in heaven. What changes do you need to make? Maybe you’ve been resisting making them. I hope today I can encourage you to settle your heart back. And even as Isaac did think maybe it’s time for me to depart sense to go from here. Maybe you’ve been stuck in a place where you still feel rejected. Where you feel hurt. Where you feel misunderstood. Where you feel overlooked. Where you feel ignored. Where you feel abused. Maybe it’s time to depart sense now there are some alterations in attitude that may help to relieve you of putting all of your trust in others or yourself to secure the outcomes that you seek and allow the Lord a better hand to go to work on your behalf. Heraclitus said only one thing is certain. You’ve probably heard this quote. It’s a bit of a kind of sound bite.

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But only one thing is certain change and we can be certain of it. But we can also be certain of something far more certain than change. And that is that God is true to his word and his call and his anointing and his Covenant never change. My dear friend Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.

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Thanks for listening to today’s episode. Hopefully it was a blessing to you. If it was do please consider leaving a rating and a review on whatever platform you are listening on. I also would love to encourage you to cheque out my new book faithful creative. We’ve got a package of resources designed specifically to encourage you in your Christian creative call. You can cheque that out at faithfulcreativebook.com and if you choose to pick it up, use the promo code podcast 50% off so you’ll get it for half price. Have a great rest of your day and God bless Jesus first everything else follows.