In my last two posts, I tried to convince you that:
Creativity is intrinsic to your identity. Human beings are imagers of a Creative God, and free will is essentially creative power.
Creativity is pivotal to your purpose. Everything God put us here to do requires creativity to execute well: problem-solving, conflict management, scheduling, landscaping—all of it is creative.
Today I get to tell you that if you want to be Spirit-filled or Spirit-led, you’re asking for a creative life.
We’ve already seen that in the beginning, the Holy Spirit hovered over the chaos and darkness like an artist broods over a blank canvas. He created us, then gave us a set of brushes to keep painting. As soon as we drew our first sacred breath, this is what we did, and have kept doing.
Yes, sin twisted our creative power. Selfishness, greed, and violence became default expressions of our creative freedom, marring God’s image as a malignant corruption of what He intended. After eons of failure and further descent into darkness, the Father sent Jesus to pay the price for us to come home and to be restored. What was restored? We were given a new self, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness,” (Eph. 4:24), “which is (progressively) being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:10). And how is this new self activated and released into the world to be fruitful and multiply once again? Through the power of the Holy Spirit.
A biblical tour of what happens when the Holy Spirit comes upon a person is truly enlightening. The first mention of a Spirit-empowerment in scripture occurs in Exodus 31:2-5:
“I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills—to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.”
“Okay,” you might be saying, “But that’s just one time, right? And it’s pretty specific to a focused task.”
True, true. But consider this: Throughout the scriptures, when the Holy Spirit comes upon or fills people, what happens? Songs erupt from within them. Prayers (co-creating with God) flow freely. Poetic prophecies tumble out. People are inspired to write journal entries, stories, and entire books! Wisdom and knowledge are imparted, giving people creative insights and solutions for complex problems. The Spirit of God hovers over chaotic lives, and rises up within His people to bring light, order, shalom, and new life. The gospel is proclaimed, and as people respond, this becomes an act of re-creation. One guy back in the day even built a giant boat!
When the Holy Spirit has His way with us, our divinely-granted creativity is restored. We un-learn our ways of corrupting this power, and offer our gifts for kingdom purposes that give God glory.
If you ask the Holy Spirit to fill you and empower you, you’re asking Him to unleash a torrent of heavenly creativity inside you, so that God’s kingdom can come here on earth.
Did this post inspire you? Challenge you? Join the conversation by commenting below.
The world is a discouraging place, but you can become a Master Encourager who ignites an encouragement revolution!
