Lies Christian Creatives Believe

When we face a crisis of identity,

the best place to visit is the Word of God. The truth of the Word of God outweighs any lie the enemy whispers in our ears.

As Christian creatives, we often believe lies about ourselves that hold us back from living out our artistic potential fully.

When our identity and purpose are fogged by these lies, the only way to find freedom from them is to look to the only absolute truth–the Word of God.

As you read this message, I pray that you will not just experience creative freedom;

but also spend time in the secret place drawing inspiration from God, the Grand Artist Himself.

Lies Christian Creatives Believe Vs. The Truth of God’s Word!

Lie #1: I AM NOT CREATIVE

As you read this message, it’s possible that you consider yourself to be creative ,

but have believed at least one or more of the lies we tend to believe very often as Christian creatives.

It’s also possible that you don’t believe you are creative at all and just stumbled upon this message.

Either way, I pray that you are deeply encouraged over the next few minutes of reading this message.

First, let’s tackle the most common lie a lot of us believe about ourselves—that we aren’t creative!

Whether someone has told us we aren’t or whether we’ve compared ourselves to others and felt less creative

or whether we just believe strongly that we aren’t, I want to reassure you that this is a lie!

When we face a crisis of identity, the best place to visit is the Word of God.

The truth of the Word of God outweighs any lie the enemy whispers in our ears.

One look at Genesis chapter 1 tells us that we are intentionally and intelligently created in the Image of God.

It wasn’t an accident.

He wanted us to resemble Him and, at the core of our identity, we are image-bearers of an extremely creative God.

Look around you today.

EVERYTHING is created by God. He designed the world you and I live in.

And He holds copyright to the northern lights, parakeets, dolphins, sunflowers, peacocks,

the Alps, panda cubs, and innumerable other things that exist because He imagined and created them.

This highly artistic God didn’t just create you in His image, He also breathed His life into you.

He’s basically empowered you to create like Him.

The enemy wants to attack your identity as a creator.

He wants you to believe that you aren’t creative and that you can’t create anything that’s worth something.

The last thing He wants is God’s children realizing how powerfully potent, inventive, resourceful, and original they are.

If he succeeds in making sure you believe you aren’t creative,

perhaps he can avoid dealing with the powerful impact you will have on posterity.

I hope that today as you read this, you understand your identity as a creative who is alive in Christ.

And I pray that you ask God to renew your mind and stop believing this very damaging lie anymore.

Let’s Pray Together:

Lord, I repent for not fully understanding that I’m an image-bearer of a very creative and artistic God.

I am sorry that I’ve failed to see who I am in You. I’m sorry for questioning my identity in You.

Please give me the mind of Christ and help me think like You, my Maker and my God.

I declare today that I am creative, artistic, original, and extremely resourceful. In Jesus name, Amen.

A Creative Prompt:

I encourage you to do two things today:

Take your journal, a piece of paper, a post-it, or just about anything you can get your hands on

and write this down in caps: I AM CREATED TO CREATE. I AM CREATIVE LIKE MY MAKER.

Put this up somewhere where you can see it so that you are constantly reminded of it.

As an act of faith, breaking the power of this lie over your life, please take a moment to create something—anything!

If you’re a song-writer, write a tiny chorus. Or If you’re an artist, paint. If you’re a writer, write.

And If you’re gifted in photography, it’s time to capture something!

Whatever your creative gifting is, remind yourself of your identity and create something today! 

Genesis 1:26-27 KJV

[26] And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:

and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

[27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
https://bible.com/bible/1/gen.1.26-27.KJV

Lies Christian Creatives Believe

Lie #2: I AM NOT ANOINTED

We might have read about the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians chapter 12,

and believed that since our creative gift isn’t mentioned there, it perhaps isn’t anointed by God.

If you’ve believed at some point that perhaps your creativity isn’t anointed,

it’s good to be reminded today that Bezalel in the Old Testament was filled by the Spirit of God with all kinds of artistic skills to build the Tabernacle.

He was empowered by God to not just craft elements of the tabernacle but also to lead and mentor other artists to do so.

Your creative gift is God-breathed, and the Spirit of God empowers you to use that gift to build His Kingdom.

Anything you’ve believed to the contrary is a lie!

You have been appointed for a time such as this.

The world is in need of Christian creatives to arise and employ their God-given, Spirit-led creativity to create colossal impact through things that they produce.

The enemy wants you to believe that your gift isn’t God-supported

and that it isn’t something God has intentionally invested in you with a specific purpose.

If he succeeds in making you believe your creativity is nothing out of the ordinary, uninspired by the Holy Spirit and just something you’ve casually picked up over time,

he will succeed in making sure you don’t create things that have Kingdom value and Spirit-led impact.

Here’s the truth from God’s word to negate this lie:

God is able to do immeasurably more than you can imagine through HIS POWER that is at WORK WITHIN YOU!

Recognize His power at work within you and lean on His Spirit to guide you whenever you create.

Let’s Pray Together:

Lord, I recognize that you’ve anointed me and empowered me by Your Spirit to use the creativity in me for Your divine purposes.

I repent for times when I’ve allowed myself to believe otherwise.

Holy Spirit, help me lean on you more and depend on your strength whenever I’m using my gift. In Jesus name, Amen.

A Creative Prompt:

I encourage you to do this today:

Why don’t you take a few minutes to wait in silence in God’s presence?

Ask Him: what do you want me to put forth? What do you desire for me to create?

Tune your heart to Him and listen to His sweet voice before you start creating anything.

Whatever you plan to work on today or tomorrow or in the next few days, why don’t you actively partner with the Holy Spirit on it?

Also, write this down in bold somewhere and put it up where you can see it—THE HOLY SPIRIT IS MY CREATIVE PARTNER. I AM APPOINTED AND ANNOINTED BY GOD. 

Lies Christian Creatives Believe

Lie #3: IT IS OKAY IF MY GIFT ISN’T USED

Being aware of our creative gifts and anointing over them is important, but it’s not enough.

What are we doing with our God-given creative abilities?

If the answer to that question is nothing or not much, we need to take time today to introspect.

I’ve sometimes thought to myself—so many others are writing so many things that are amazing every day, what difference will it make if I don’t?

The Holy Spirit spoke to me one day and showed me that the words He’s put inside me are unique.

They inhabit an extremely unique person; they’re the result of a very distinctive life experience;

they are matchless compared to the words that others have to write because they’re mine.

There is only one me. If I don’t use my gift, sadly, there are words that could’ve touched people that might never see the light of day!

What is your God-given gift?

Have you felt comfortable not doing anything about it because why bother? Maybe you haven’t had the time?

Maybe you’ve believed that you don’t need to because it’s not more important than other things in your life?

I don’t know where you’re at with using your gift,

but if the parable of the talents teaches us anything it is that the wealth you’re entrusted with is useless if it is buried in the ground.

It only bears fruit when it’s used.

The enemy wants you to believe that you’re fine where you are,

doing the bare minimum and safeguarding your creativity by letting it sit inside of you.

But the truth of God’s word says otherwise: DO NOT NEGLECT your gift.

Are there songs, books, stories, poems, artworks, doodles, sketches, photographs, blogs, stories, etc. hidden in you that will never see the light of day?

Or will you take a bold step today of committing to making sure you produce something that will make the Master go “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

Let’s Pray Together:
Lord, I repent if I have wasted time ignoring or hiding the creativity You’ve blessed me with.

Today, I commit to doing something with my gift that will honor You and glorify You.

I want to use my gift because it wasn’t given to me to bury but to bloom and bear fruit. In Jesus name, Amen.

A Creative Prompt:

I encourage you to do this today:

Use the parable of the talents as inspiration to create something—a blog post, a poem, a song, an illustration, a tune, just about anything that you feel led to. 

Lies Christian Creatives Believe

Lie #4: I’LL NEVER BE AS GOOD AS XYZ

It’s great to look up to forerunners in our creative field and draw inspiration from them, but comparing ourselves to others never ends well.

A lie we often tell ourselves is that we will never be as good as someone else.

The problem with comparing ourselves with someone else is that we immediately assume that our gift isn’t unique

and we have nothing to offer creatively that stands out from others.

As great as others’ work can be,

your distinctive potential married with your inimitable person (the matchless image of God imprinted on you) makes for creative gifting that is unforeseen by the world.

Belittling your gift by comparing it to someone else can be dishonoring to God who empowered you with your gift in the first place.

Now, let’s be honest here—we all may be at different levels in our skill and aspiring to be better and more excellent at what you do isn’t wrong.

In fact, that’s very important.

Let’s never act like we’ve arrived as there’s always room to learn and grow.

However, that’s not what we’re talking about here.

We’re talking about feeling ashamed to express yourself artistically because you’re looking at someone else’s expression and feel that it doesn’t match up.

The lie the enemy wants you to believe is that you’ll never be as good as someone else because then you’ll never aim to be the best that you can be.

His mission succeeds when you believe that you can’t match up to the talent around you and instead choose to do nothing or little with what you have.

It’s great to have role models in our skill area, but let’s not idolize them,

be threatened by them, or feel insecure to work on our gift because of them.

Let’s Pray Together:

Lord, I’ve spent far too much time comparing myself to others.

I repent of having feelings of envy, jealousy, and defeat when I’m around other creative people.

I value what you’ve placed within me, and I want to strive to use it in the best way possible.

Help me focus on my skill and work on being the best that I can be. In Jesus name, Amen.

A Creative Prompt:

I encourage you to do this today:

First, spend time thinking of some people you’ve compared yourself to or felt envious about.

Take your focus off them for a minute now and think about your gift.

What can you do to be your personal best? What steps can you take to commit to getting better at what you do?

Write down these steps and share them with someone you can be accountable to. 

2 Corinthians 10:12 KJV

[12] For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
https://bible.com/bible/1/2co.10.12.KJV 

Lies Christian Creatives Believe

Lie #5: I DON’T HAVE TO HAVE A PLAN

For the longest time I believed that being creative justified being sporadic, erratic, impulsive, and even a bit reckless.

I’d have seasons of writing a lot and then some seasons where I just “didn’t feel like it.”

While ideas can come spontaneously and there’s an element of unpredictability with creativity;

that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have vision, goals, structure, accountability, and planning.

In fact, a prudent creative will not just have a clear vision of what they want to do but will also break that down into achievable and timely goals,

work diligently towards these goals, and be committed to their craft.

When Bezalel was appointed to work on the tabernacle, he wasn’t winging it.

He wasn’t making his way through it with no end goal in mind.

And He was given a clear blueprint, and he had a vision in mind of what needed to be done.

It wasn’t a project he took on that just carried on for years with no end in sight.

He stuck to timelines and delivered great quality within the time-frame allotted to him.

Sometimes we struggle to work with structure, accountability, deadlines, and goals.

We feel they restrict our creativity, when in fact they help us be responsible with our gift.

The enemy wants you to believe that you don’t need to plan what to do with your gift.

He wants you to procrastinate with it.

And He knows that focused commitment towards your gift will reap great reward and bear much fruit so perhaps it’s easier for him if you believe you don’t need to have that.

If you’ve been struggling to be disciplined and committed to your art, it’s time to have a concrete plan or a vision for what you want to do.

Another thing that can help is finding accountability or a community that you can trust to hold you answerable.

Let’s Pray Together:

Lord, I’ve struggled to stay focused and committed to using my gift. I struggle to have a vision and goals.

Please help me remember always that everything I do, I do it unto You.

Help me, Holy Spirit, to be a diligent and responsible creative as I surrender myself to You. In Jesus name, Amen.

A Creative Prompt:

I encourage you to do this today:

Create a vision board.

What’s your 5 year plan? What do you aim to produce, create, or build in the next 5 years?

Write down a vision statement and then break that down into goals. Get creative with it.

Get out your stickers, markers, pens, spray paints—

whatever your creative expression is—and make a board that inspires you and reminds you of your vision and purpose.

Share this vision board with someone who can hold you accountable. 

Lies Christian Creatives Believe

Lie #6: IT IS OKAY TO COPY OTHERS

This requires some serious deep heart work, and it’s extremely close to God’s heart.

Drawing inspiration from others and studying by imitating the work of others is an important part of a creative’s learning process.

It’s great to follow tutorial videos and practice what someone else has taught.

There’s a vast sea of content that exists on the internet to help you further your skill and become better at your art.

However, plagiarism which is outright copying someone’s work and passing it off as your own without giving credit to them is NOT OKAY.

The Bible is quite clear about stealing, and plagiarism is stealing the creativity of someone else.

Somehow, it’s easy to blur the lines with this when creating from inspiration.

An inspired artist adds something fresh to their creation, even if they borrow ideas.

What they produce at the end always will have their originality adding a new spin on an existing concept.

On the other hand, a plagiarist replicates the work of another individual, and often, doesn’t credit them for it.

The enemy specializes in creating cheap imitations of God’s original creative work.

Look around you—so many beautiful things God has created, the enemy has attempted to steal and pass off as his own.

He wants to tempt you to be lazy and do the same.

And He wants you to not use the God-given imagination and ingenuity that’s within you to create something unique.

He wants you to take the easy way out and not put the hard, honest work in.

Social media platforms where artists share their work have made it even easier to cut, copy, paste, and share with less or no thought to giving credit to the source.

Please know that even though no one might find out that your work is copied or stolen, in part or whole, the Lord knows, and He seeks integrity in our hearts.

If you honor God and other creatives through your creative process, your work will also be honored.

It’s not too late!

If you’ve fallen in this area as a creative, you can come before God today and confess to him and seek His forgiveness.

You can amend things and walk in integrity in this area in the days to come!

Let’s Pray Together:

Lord, I repent for not giving credit where credit is due.

I repent for stealing ideas and passing them off as my own.

I’m sorry that I wasn’t fully honest about my creative work in the past.

Help me honor you in this area, Father. I want to create work that is original and imaginative like you! In Jesus name, Amen.

A Creative Prompt:

I encourage you to do this today:

Introspect!

How many times have you put out work that someone else should either be credited for or that you shouldn’t have put up at all because part of it or most of it was stolen?

Are there posts or creative content you can take down today as an act of true repentance in this area?

Is there someone you should apologize to?

As you do this, take time to commit yourself to the Lord and to be an authentic and sincere creative who honors God every day. 

Lies Christian Creatives Believe

Lie #7: MY GIFT ISN’T MEANT TO BE SHARED

You may be very diligent about using your gift and creating regularly,

but perhaps you’re someone who has come to believe that it is okay if your work isn’t shared with the world.

Now, I understand that not everything you create might be with the purpose of sharing.

Some things are written, painted, or produced in a season when God is perhaps calling you to do so in the secret place.

However, the ultimate purpose of your gift is to bring glory to God and how can it do that when it’s always hidden from others.

You are a city on a hill and a light that is meant to shine.

Why then are you hesitant to allow the Lord to use your gifts more widely for Kingdom impact?

There could be several reasons—perhaps you’re not confident in your capabilities;

perhaps you’re doubting how good you are; perhaps you’re still learning and not there yet.

The enemy wants you to believe that your work isn’t good enough to be shared with others and that no one will be impacted by it.

His preference is if you keep your art hidden under a bushel.

Today, I want to challenge you to be bolder in putting yourself out there.

I’m not saying share everything you create all the time.

I’m saying, ask the Lord to help you create specifically to bless others.

Ask the Lord to help you know when to create for yourself or for Him and when to create to share with others.

Maybe some songs you write are just for God in the secret place; maybe some are to bless the church.

Maybe some things you write are for yourself

or just as a journaling exercise—something deeply personal and private; maybe some other things you write are for a wider audience.

Whatever your gift is, it has a specific purpose of glorifying God and furthering His Kingdom.

How can you shine your light more intentionally?

Matthew 5:16 KJV
[16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
https://bible.com/bible/1/mat.5.16.KJV 

Let’s Pray Together:

Lord, I’ve been hiding under a bushel for too long,

and I repent for not seeking opportunities to shine your light brightly through the gift that you’ve given me.

Help me be a city on a hill.

And Help me use my creativity to honor you and to bless others.

I pray that as you use me and my gift and that I will remain humble and submitted to your will. In Jesus name, Amen.

A Creative Prompt:

I encourage you to do this today:

Create something with the sole intention of blessing someone else.

Pray and start writing, singing, drawing, dancing—whatever your creative expression is—and ask the Lord, whom can I share this with today to bless them?

I pray that you have a testimony of God’s power working through your gift today. 

Also Read: God’s Greatest Gifts – Diademng

Lies Christian Creatives Believe

We would like to thank Becky Lee Pearson for providing this message. For more information, please visit: https://www.instagram.com/peckyeepearson/