God’s grace to create allows a constant flow to find its way to the page or the paper without the strain that often attends the process. The idea that the artistic life must be one of angst and torment is not the picture we see in Scripture.
Bezalel was marvellously equipped to create the intricate tabernacle of God’s presence in the wilderness. The anointing took his talent and made it something more.
Moreover, “God put in Bezalel’s heart that he may teach,” (Exodus 35:34 AMP). The blessing stretched far beyond the bounds of Bezalel’s life, spilling into the lives of others and multiplying God’s gracious anointing.
God can do the same with you.
He can take what you offer and multiply it.
In God’s Kingdom, the math of creativity begins when we seek first the King and His Kingdom. When we seek Him first, the promise is that God will reward, multiply, and add to our lives in remarkable ways.
Seeking first the Kingdom may seem counterintuitive.
The drive to lean on our own understanding and push with the strength of our own learning or expertise is strong. I think that’s why we see so many burnouts lining the creative highways and byways. Pushing hard is needful at times, and the opposite imbalance of never taking action is more common. Both are gullies creatives can fall into if we are not careful.
On one side it’s all us – our talent, our time, our efforts, our limited genius.
On the other it’s all God, but not in a good way. Waiting endlessly for God to do something but never offering Him any substance of faith to work with. Sitting under the proverbial tree, hoping a golden apple from Heaven’s storehouse will someday fall into your palm.
Grace to Create
The balance that walks between the two is “Grace to Create”.
Grace to create brings all of you to the table and places it at God’s disposal. It takes talent and the natural skills we have honed and sanctifies them to holy purpose. Grace to create uncouples from outcomes, leaving them to God, and humbly offers worth to the world in response to God’s prompting.
The writer dedicates his fingers to God and then punches the keys every day trusting the Holy Ghost for words that will work in the lives of his readers.
The painter, musician, businessman or businesswoman, believes God for the ideas and direction to build authentic outflows that bring in abundant incomes.
God is in the driving seat, but the passenger is not passive. We work together with the anointing to get to our destination.
Creative Flow
Rivers from the throne above.
The bible speaks of rivers that flow from the throne of God, gushing forth with healing powers. These waters are charged with the life of God Himself, and “wherever the rivers go, comes alive.” (Ezekiel 47:9)
Scripture also speaks of rivers flowing from another throne.
Rivers from the throne below.
Jesus has taken up residence on the throne of your heart. Ousting self and taking His rightful place the same life-giving rivers break forth in the heart of the believer.
“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38 NKJV)
“… the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14 NKJV)
Connect the two and something supernatural occurs. Our hands become His, our mind operates with insights that proceed from a higher mind. Creativity flows without blockages and new and exciting things come into existence through us.
Walking in pace with God we jettison the nervous pursuits of the world and tap into. Kingdom flow of inspiration bigger and deeper than ourselves. So deep in fact that our feet don’t touch the ground.
The journey to discover this creative grace begins when we take our first trusting steps into the shallows, believing that He can bring us across to our promised land.
We make something and send it forth like bread on the waters, believing that God’s grace will bring it back to us at His appointed time marvellously multiplied.
Turn on the tap, dear creative friend, and let the inner river flow.
