ARE WE COLLABORATING WITH GOD?

By Mike Hodder

Do you love to create and feel you have artistic talent, but for one reason or another are frustrated with how God fits into the creative process? Perhaps, you are tired of looking at contemporary “Christian” art, and have dropped Him completely to forge ahead in your own work.

After many years of struggling in my own art, and reading many books on the creative process, (including the Bible) I have finally come to understand that Christians have a 24/7 inspirational hotline to the Creator of the universe! Here are some ways to foster a healthy and productive creative relationship with the Lord.

1. Be Transparent

Just as transparency with close friends and family members draws us closer together, transparency with God brings us closer to Him.

The New York Times bestselling author William P. Young, confesses that at one point in his life he had an extramarital affair—and got caught.

“It took eleven years to dismantle everything, and rebuild it,” he says. “And it was only after that, that I was ready to write a story.”

In other words, when Young was left with nothing only then could God take and rebuild him into the man He wanted him to be. This new man could then go on to write the run-away best seller, The Shack.

Transparency with God and ourselves empties our baggage and allows Him to fill us with His inspiration.

2. Ask The Holy Spirit For Help

Many of us as Christians fail to produce inspiring art simply because we don’t ask God for help. We go into our art saying we want to glorify Him, but we listen to that little voice that whispers such messages as these: produce what sells, design to impress, compare work with others . . .

God invites us to listen instead to His voice and let Him direct us. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt,” He says. “Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.” Psalm 81:10

Asking the Holy Spirit for help takes the focus off of us and places it on Him who augments our gifts and talents so they can better praise Him.

3. Get Enthusiastic

Rooted in Greek, the word enthusiasm means, “to be inspired, be possessed by a god.” In Christian terms, that simply being filled with the Holy Spirit. Isn’t it refreshing to think that our enthusiasm and God’s spirit go hand in hand?

Formulas, agendas, market research, and willpower are not the ways to get enthusiastic about our work. Rather, find out what makes your inner child jump up and down (makes you enthusiastic) and go for it! It’s there for a reason. God put it there. He’s possessed you. The Apostle Paul encourages this kind of enthusiasm when he writes, “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

May these three points help us trust the Lord in our creative walk, as we seek to please Him.

Mike Hodder writes from Milwaukie, Oregon. mike.hodder@nike.com