How to Overcome Creative Block as a Christian Creative
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There are a few times in my life when I felt like I was hitting a wall and wanted nothing to do with doing anything creative. If you know anything about me, that's actually a huge red flag that something is wrong, because there's no way I don't want to do something, ANYTHING, creative—even when I'm pretty tired. In times like these I would struggle to understand what was wrong and how to even overcome it. All I knew was that the flow just wasn't there and I felt myself in a mental shutdown. Sometimes this would even lead to me second-guessing my abilities. Many people may recognize this as a "creative block."
Creative block, or not feeling like your God-given creativity is flowing at all (or as well as it could or usually does), can happen for many different reasons. Some tend to get stuck on the fact that it's happening and just stay there and panic (or mentally check out until something else happens). But, there are ways that you can combat this. The first step, though, is to figure out why it's happening. Here are a few reasons:
Lack of rest: this is a major one that I'm still learning a lot about. I went from disregarding rest completely—which is so unhealthy—to now doing my best to embrace rest (progress!) but still wrestling with letting go of wanting to do something "productive," even if it's not technically "work tasks" (if you didn't know, that's not rest either!).
Perfectionism: perfectionism can stem from pride and fear, and it robs your future by preventing you from doing something now (or even slowing you down/delaying you), because you're too fixated on the end result being flawless. I believe the best way to deal with perfectionism is to choose to focus on obedience to God over trying to reach impossible standards. If your desire to reach certain standards gets in the way of fulfilling an assignment from God, it’s likely perfectionism.
Fear of failure: pretty self-explanatory, and related to perfectionism, but this can also stem from just not feeling capable at all. While perfectionism says "I know I can but I'm afraid it won't be exactly right," fear of failure says "I know that God says I can but I don't believe Him." Something I’ve heard many people in my life say is sometimes you need to “do it afraid.” Again, prioritizing obedience to God over any feelings of fear and doubt is the key here.
Monotony: when you continue to do the same thing over and over again simply out of routine, it can become dull and repetitive. While it's sometimes just a matter of discipline, a simple way to avoid that feeling of monotony is to include the Lord in what you are creating. Seek Him on what to do and when, when to take breaks and come back, and pray that He helps you finish strong. I'm one that has really underestimated the power of quick breaks, getting fresh air (or finally eating), and giving my brain a chance to come back with fresh eyes the next day. Now, I'm not advocating for everything always needing to feel fun and entertaining—like I said, some things just require discipline. But you also don't need to be miserable, especially when it's something God has designed for you not only to do well but also enjoy. The key here is to avoid falling into just another routine just to go through the motions, and consistently going to the Lord for direction.
Creating 'in your own strength': this can be connected to lack of rest, as in pushing yourself beyond what your physical body can handle, but beyond that this refers to creating things that while they sound "good" are actually not what God desires you to create. Therefore, the grace to create them is not necessarily there and you're just using your own efforts to accomplish whatever it is, outside of God's will. Being in alignment with what God wants is essential to avoid this, because it can easily lead to burnout otherwise. A lot of people attribute burnout to a lack of rest, when often it's actually caused by a lack of alignment with God's will and doing things without Him having led you to do so. Pray for God's wisdom and counsel so that you can create what is in His will for you and have the grace and strength to do so.
Comparison/Self-Doubt: this stems from a lack of complete identity in Christ. The fact of the matter is that, no matter how gifted you are, if you don't know that your inherent value is rooted in Jesus, you will always feel the need to measure yourself against what someone else is doing, and in turn never be satisfied with what God created you to do. That is what halts your creative flow. It's essentially saying "I don't know who I am but that person over there looks good, so let me try to force myself to be like them." That will never work out well, because you were made with a design that is 100% unique to you. It's like expecting an apple to taste like an orange. You can color it differently, maybe inject it with something to make it taste like an orange, but you will be disappointed to find out that no matter what you do, at its core it's still an apple. And if you never do anything with the apple because you hate that it's an apple, eventually that apple will rot. All that to say, seek out your identity from the One who designed you and loves everything about you, inside and out.
Cluttered Mind/Overstimulation: sometimes we can unintentionally cause our own creative blocks by what we are mentally consuming, or even just consuming too much in general. In this age where social media has become a normal part of most people's lives, and many get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life, it can be a challenge to sit still and quietly for long enough to actually receive the inspiration to create something. In times like these, personal consecration is a great way to combat this. That can look like a time of fasting from actual food to draw closer to the Lord, or making a decision to take a step away from entertainment like TV, movies, and social media for some time. I find that making a habit of reading books can actually help in exercising your imagination and allowing for a new flow of inspiration. I love my Kindle (affiliate link) but I also love physical books! This can be non-fiction faith-based books that help with personal and spiritual growth, or even faith-based fiction books are great too.
Unhealed wounds/offenses: this may seem surprising to some, but if you look at it biblically it makes total sense. The Bible says that "from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks." But many don't remember the entire verse, which actually says:
"The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." — Luke 6:45
What we produce, or create, is a byproduct of the condition of our hearts. So if you find yourself dealing with unhealed wounds from your past, or maybe you're offended at someone and struggling to forgive, that in and of itself can block your creativity—at least when it comes to the things God wants you to create. Everything produced from God is good, so if He desires to use you as a vessel of creativity, it cannot be mixed in with things that are tainted. Now this is not to say that you need to be perfect and never have anything that you're healing from—if that were the case, I'd be disqualified from creating anything for the Lord. But the point is that it's important to not let things fester, to forgive quickly, and surrender anything that has hurt us to our Father so that we can be purified and better able to glorify Him in everything we do, not just in creativity.
Once you figure out where the creative block stems from, it's a lot easier to deal with it. Then, even when the enemy or old ways of thinking try to come back up, you'll find yourself better equipped to overcome these things faster. Dealing with them is as simple as spending time in prayer asking the Lord to help you address this root, as many times as you need to until you sense His confirmation that it has been fully dealt with. He could give you steps, like taking some days off to recharge or establishing a sabbath day each week if it's a matter of a lack of rest, or He could help you by giving you clarity on what He wants you to focus on creating so that it doesn't feel like you're dragging your feet or doing things in your own strength.
When I find myself knowing the root but still a bit unsure or needing God's help in this area, I like to spend quiet time with the Lord just listening and in a posture of worship and humility before Him. If you intentionally live your life like this in general, prioritizing what He desires to speak to you about rather than just your own desires and thoughts, you'll find this new level of ease when it comes to accomplishing things and flowing in the creativity He naturally instilled in you.
I want to encourage you to resist the temptation to believe that something is broken in you or that you're deficient in some way. Creativity is at the very core of who you are because you were made in God's image (Genesis 1:27). Even if you aren’t artistic like me, that is not the only definition/marker of being creative. You ARE creative, and the Lord will continue to lead you in everything that you do if you continue to surrender to Him.
Which of these have you struggled with most? Drop it in the comments below!
Prayer
Pray this out loud
Father, I thank you that you have made me to be creative because I am made in your image and You Yourself are the ultimate Creative. I pray Lord that you would help me to overcome this "creative block." Show me the root of it, and help me to deal with it swiftly. Give me wisdom on how to continue to create the way that you uniquely designed me to. I submit my whole life and my creativity to You. May everything that I do honor You and glorify You always. May people encounter You through the things that You lead me to create. I repent for any way that I may have caused the flow of the creativity You've given me to cease in my life. I declare right now that it will no longer be hindered. I thank you that there will be no more blockages or obstacles. Thank you for your grace, strength, and faithfulness. In Jesus' name, amen.
If you ever want to share anything connected to this post or in general, I’d love to hear from you! Feel free to comment below, email me at giselle@creatinghallelujahs.com, or message me on Instagram @creatinghallelujahs. I check all of those regularly, and everything shared privately (besides public comments) stays confidential unless you give permission to share.
