We Were Made to Create With God
I've served as a part of the media team at my church, my church, Ignite The Globe, in various roles, including doing graphic design for our weekly flyers, special events, etc. How I started off as a designer over a decade ago was because I saw a need in another ministry I was a part of, and that activated a desire to learn more and stretch my skills so that I could use them to serve God.
As I was preparing to do the most recent batch of flyers (one of them pictured below) I did what I typically do—sat and waited to see what God would show me (which is a similar process to the creative communion steps I've shared in the past). I got glimpses of colors but didn't quite yet have a clear idea of what theme He wanted me to go with. Then, in a brief moment, I heard the word "ascend" and saw mountains. It was so subtle, though, that I almost second guessed it, thinking it was nothing more than a random idea that came to mind. It wasn't until I was at my church's Friday night prayer that something someone said on the mic brought it back to mind and I realized God was saying "see? I was trying to tell you 👀" 😂. So I was obedient and created what was needed as the Lord led me.
Since then, I've been in awe of just how much God has confirmed His word and has truly been taking us through this process of ascension as a ministry. There was no meeting to coordinate this theme with my leaders—it's all been in unity with Holy Spirit.
As I've looked back on the past month or so and how God has been moving within the church that I am a part of, one of the consistent themes He has been speaking to us about is ascending the mountain of the Lord. This has caused me to really reflect on how important it is to truly be led by God, even as people that are in creative roles.
Just imagine if I had focused on doing something that felt catchy, that went along with whatever trends are out there in the church world, or that just in general fit a certain mold—even if it wasn't what God was saying. I'm not at all saying that it would mean that He couldn't still move. I am absolutely certain that God would still find a way to accomplish His will. But there would have been an opportunity missed to minister to people in a way that is unique and goes beyond the traditional way that we view ministry.
I'll never know fully who is impacted by the things that I create. There could be someone that sees the flyers I create for my church, or my artwork, or whatever else the Lord leads me to do, that will never tell me how it impacted their life—how it might have pointed them closer to Jesus or led them to attend service. And that's ok, because I don't need to know. I just need to be obedient and have a resolve within me to remain in agreement with what God wants me to create, even if it doesn't necessarily make sense or it's not what I would have thought of on my own. I am only one piece of the puzzle, one body part within the whole body of Christ. But if something like a thumb, or an ear, or some teeth, suddenly were removed from someone's body, they would find it to be challenging to do certain things.
So, I share all of this not to boast in any way in my creativity. It's only because of God and His grace that I'm able to create the way that I do. But that was something I had to learn. Creating in partnership with Him is far greater than your natural born creativity on your own—despite the fact that God gave you that natural born creativity.
As we can all probably observe in this world, God's gifts are truly without repentance (Romans 11:29). There are musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, and more creating things every day that have nothing to do with Him and don't glorify Him at all—in fact, quite the opposite. And even still, they clearly have some sort of impact in the world. Don't be deceived: even if they don't consciously know that they have partnered with darkness to create, that is the reality. How much greater would it be within the body of Christ if we realized how powerful it is to not only just create because you can, but to do so with the leading of the Holy Spirit. Many times, the reason you see things that seem good but don't quite seem to be God is because what was produced was done so without a posture of surrender to Him. It could be that there was more of a focus on trends, pressure from trying to please people, or something else. Either way, if the end goal was accomplished without the Lord, it's often easy to tell that this was the case.
From the beginning, God has designed the earth and humanity in a way where He, more often than not, accomplishes His plans through us. Genesis 1:28 tells us that God blessed humanity and gave us dominion over the earth. That dominion was always meant to be done in partnership with Him—so when we decide to come into agreement with Him and surrender our will to His, we are essentially saying "Lord, let your will, not my own" be done and yielding the authority He delegated to us on the earth so that He can use it for His purposes.
Part of 2 Chronicles 16:9 says:
"For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth so that He may support those whose heart is completely His…"
Although this is part of a specific story in scripture, it points to a principle that we can find throughout the Bible about how God operates with His people. 1 Corinthians 3:9 also says:
For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building.
God views you as His coworker, His co-laborer and partner on the Earth. I think often times people only interpret this as being within the church and serving in some sort of traditional ministry capacity, like being a preacher or a leader within your local ministry. And while yes that can be true—and in this case, with the example that I used, I was serving within an actual church. But if we know the enemy desires to use successful, wealthy people in the world to further his agenda and to bring more people into bondage and darkness, why do we think that God wouldn't have an even greater plan to partner with those that have surrendered completely to Him to further His plans on the Earth?
This is my encouragement to those of you if you feel that pull to create in whatever format—it is not in vain, and it is not small. God desires to partner with you as you create. What you create has a voice, and when you do it for His glory it becomes an avenue, a portal, through which He can move. You may think it's just a flyer, or just a video, or just a drawing, but you don't understand that when you create you're producing from a specific source and coming into agreement with something—or someone. Let it be with God and for God.
Journal Prompt:
Write down all of the things you know you do pretty well, even if no one has formally taught you how. If you're struggling to think of things, take a moment to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to bring them to mind. Then highlight the ones you're truly passionate about—the ones you could do for an extended period of time and not grow tired of. Once you have your list, bring it before the Lord. Ask Him to show you which areas He's highlighting in this season—where He's been desiring to partner with you right now—and to reveal any ways you may have hesitated or second guessed yourself. Ask Him how you can begin walking in those things more confidently.
Here’s a prayer for when you bring those things before the Lord:
Father, thank you that you have created me with the ability to create. I pray that you would help me to see myself the way You see me, as a daughter/son that was made in Your image. Show me the areas where you have given me creativity, even if it seemed as though those things weren’t that great or important. I let go of any doubt or fear when it comes to my creativity, and I surrender to You. I pray that as You reveal these things, that you would also lead me and teach me how to partner with You, Holy Spirit, so that I can use my creativity to glorify You. Have Your way in my life, Lord. 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 those regularly, and everything stays confidential unless you give permission to share.
