The artist within is not a stressed-out, over-responsible adult, but a child – sensitive, inquisitive, carefree, one who thrives on nurture and on fun.
False guilt, false compassion and false responsibility often cause us to say YES to everyone and everything, to the point of becoming spiritually and emotionally starved. Then we hit the brick wall. With responsibilities and tasks, I can manage to push past my inner limits with sheer will power and determination, ignoring the inner gas gauge that says “empty.” But my creativity and my worship are like fragile flowers that cannot be forced to open. They simply do so automatically and effortlessly when (yet only when) the right conditions are met. I can subdue my “to do” list with human strength, but with the life of the Spirit, I must yield…. and abide. The life of God is to flow through us, not from us. So, when I am feeling depleted, it is because I am trying to be the source rather than just the channel.
When I pour myself out upon Him, I find that He is not like the others who keep taking in spite of my emptiness. The intricacies of His union with me bring balance and rest. And then, once I am in a place of equilibrium, the overflow spills effortlessly upon the Object of my affection.
He is teaching me about His rhythm, breaking me free from the tyranny of time, society and our man-made, calendar. His rhythm is different, graceful. His yoke really is easy and His burden light.
So, today, will you give yourself permission to pause for a moment? Just breathe in His grace, His sustenance, His wisdom and abundant provision for every situation, until you are filled to overflowing. By faith and through the gate of your imagination, drink from the River of Life and from the River of Desire and of the Ecstasies of God. Be filled. Be refreshed. Be loved. Just BE.
How are some ways you refresh yourself in God? And how does your creativity flow from your union with Him?
The Artist Within
