David Lee Martin

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The gospel is the centre furrow of every creative field.

Jesus first, everything else follows.

It will take grit and grace to run your race.

By nature we are visionary.

No child of God is devoid of dreams, having already caught a glimpse of the city whose Builder and Maker is God!

But the creative path in life is not an easy one. It always beckons us to stretch and seek new boundaries, pushing possibilities and dreaming things into existence.

This brings us into Hebrews 11 territory:

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (Hebrews 11:13)

We see things afar off and set our inner compass and course, but not all of these hopes and visions will be fulfilled this side of eternity.

Although I’m deeply aware how privileged I am to have enjoyed a modicum of success in many of my creative endeavors, I also have a vast store of questions and disappointed hopes that I’ve had to swallow along the way. For every success, there has been a “string of lessons that I’ve learned” (a nice way to describe flops and fails).

What do you do when reality is not rosy and the road is far from smooth?

Grit your way through, knowing your Father is fully aware and in control, and dig deeper wells of grace in prayer to discover the lessons He is longing to teach along the way.

I have often, with hindsight, thanked God for not giving the things I thought I wanted.

Needless to say, there are also some startling omissions in His answers (or seeming lack of them) that I still have to work through. But more often than not, I’ve learned that Papa knows best. He knows the end from the beginning, and the most effective pathway there to shape my character for eternity.

Eternity after all is your ultimate destination.

Sometimes we forget.

Where we see an inch in front of our face, Father’s design and desire for your future stretches into eons.

Whatever peak or valley you are navigating right now, know that your great God, the Father of all, Creator of the worlds and all that is in them, has your back.

Read Hebrews 11 and add your name to the roster.

In the race for eternity, these were the Olympic gold winners in our Father’s eyes, and the majority of them did not boast this world’s accolades. Many were rejected and despised. Many held to hopes that made them the butt of jokes and jibes.

But when the podium is pulled out, we’ll be surprised how the final scores are calculated.

First will be last and last first.

Rich will be stricken, poor will be praised.

This is why, dear friends, even in our pursuit of excellence and success in our endeavours, eternity must remain the frame through which we define our existence.

One of the great dangers and frustrations that praying creatives face is success.

A little progress under the belt builds confidence, but naturally, that confidence can tip into self-reliance. We forget that the same grace we desperately desired when the starting gun fired is still required, perhaps increasingly, as the race continues.

Paul lamented the fact that the Galatians began in a spirit of reliance and humility but switched gear once they had a little experience under their belt.

“Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3 KJV)

The scriptures also speak of this in the book of Jeremiah. Instead of humble and thirsty dependence on the Source, God’s people hewed shallow troughs to draw from:

“For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13 KJV)

Retain your reliance.

Hold fast to the Fount.

Come back to simplicity, sincerity, and a sweet spirit that seeks God at every turn.

He fills the hungry, satisfies the thirsty, and instead of your energies bleeding through the cracks of self-reliance, gushing grace will overflow from your inner man to bless the world.

For years I had a cheap print of Millet’s sower on my wall.

I wanted to be reminded every day why I’m here in the field.

To sow.

Knowing that what I sow, I will reap.

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6 KJV)

While the world schemes for all it can get, we believers conceive for all we can give.

Knowing this precious truth keeps us writing, making, moulding, learning and sharing.

Every seed sown puts roots of faith deep into the soil of prosperity. Some may sprout pounds, dollars and yen. Others might yield changed lives and transformed minds.

God, the Master of our creative stewardship, is no man’s debtor. No seed is wasted other than those that remain unsown.

Don’t hold back. Never fear putting your best seed to the field!

Share your best, show up every day, and pour out your heart and life in service to the King.

I’ve learned that when I feel busied, I need to hit the brakes.

When anxiousness or a feeling of drivenness fuels my actions for the day, and my thoughts are speedy or derailed,

when the tendency is to do more and faster,

when tasks pile up and I feel overwhelmed,

When I’m blinded by opportunities

crowded with all the things I don’t have time to do…

It’s time to STOP!

Because as believers, we’re not driven, we’re led.

The loss of the rhema word (The "right-now Word of God" spoken to the heart) in the noise leads to busyness and anxiety.

I could get lost at sea for days in this stormy state. Now I’ve learned to halt the ship and come straight back into harbour for fresh direction the moment I sense choppy waters ahead.

Why do I share this today? Because it’s precisely how I was feeling just 3 hours ago (at time of writing). Too much to do, not enough time to do it, and my heart and mind racing for ways to pack three weeks into three days.

What to do when there’s too much to do?

Stop. Pray. Rest. Listen. Reset.

Let tumultuous thoughts settle in His presence.

Stay there until you hear.

How do you know you’ve heard?

When you see, sense or hear words spoken (God speaks in many ways) that carry a supernatural peace. Peace that disarms the lies of self-preservation, fear of missing out, or lack of time and talent.

This morning, amidst a storm of ideas and opportunities and demands, I instead took two hours to get still and seek God (not a testament to my spirituality, more an indication of my stubbornness, because that’s simply how long it took to tame my soul and it shut it up long enough to listen).

“Words Are My Way”

“Words are my way,” He said to me.

In fact, I think it was actually my own spirit relaying to my mind what the Holy Spirit has spoken inwardly to the real me on the inside. The one who never worries. The one who trusts in God come what may.

“Words are my way”, I repeated. Several times. With each utterance peace washed over my troubled soul and I was reminded.

God is in charge. His timing is perfect.

And words are my way.

So I wrote some.

I hope they are helpful to you.

Grace,

David

PS: What’s the Holy Ghost speaking to you? Give Him time. Make room for rhema. Your sense of confidence will soar, and the temptation to fear or FOMO will flee. hallelujah!