God is raising up an army of artists.
It’s always been His heart, but I believe the church accidentally, intentionally, or unintentionally, brushed the value of artistry and outwardly artistically minded people, to the side, who were truly trying to abide all along. Why did we undervalue the goodness of what was being offered? How did that happen tho? We need Godsight not mansight.
Perhaps it looked different than the mainstream church culture of that time and what was being valued. Perhaps it was fear. Obviously, the enemy didn’t want the outwardly spoken artists to dine and share a dance with other believers. That’s more power, more anointing, more authority, dynamite collaboration, stripping of strongholds, diminishing the shackles of “normalcy,”tradition, and legalism. It would be adding more opportunity, to release God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven.
Art speaks loud. Art cuts to the soul. Art removes barriers, fetters, and shackles. Art breaks through. The enemy doesn’t like breakthroughs. Why would the enemy ever want that? Doesn’t He want to keep us bound and fettered? Doesn’t He want to hold us back from the Church living out its fullest potential? Doesn’t the enemy wanna keep us in a box, under the shackles of religion without intimate, creatively flowing relationship with the King of Kings?
The enemy knows creativity is what our brain needs to function its healthiest and best. From the brain flows our thoughts, our feelings, our abilities. The enemy also knows how loud of a message art has potential to send and what can happen when one steps into creativity.
I’ve heard sayings, I’ve heard prophecies, I believe I’ve heard the whisper of the Holy Spirit in my ears speaking about this matter. I’ve watched it come to fruition in my counseling offices these past several months as breakthroughs happen.
As believers start to understand their true identity, part of that being, part of that truly being, they’re designed to create with the most incredible creator of all. The reasons for creating with God are multifaceted. One of many being, for vitality and holistic health, but the other, for power and authority, being an ambassador of helping to create right order once again, making all things new, spreading the light of the gospel throughout the cracks, corners, devastations, and thriving parts of the world, straight to the heart of man. This is just scratching the surface.
“Dancing is one of the key strategies to waring off the enemy”
“Creating is one of the key strategies to warring off the enemy”
“Playing, creating, using your hands, is a key ingredient to mental health wellbeing & vitality”
“Using the right side part of our brain is a key strategy to waring off the enemy”
“Once' the artist catches God’s vision for what He’s doing, that’s when you see His kingdom spread like wildfire”
————— More half processed thoughts —————
Art, music, and creativity is highly prized biblically. I am uncertain, but it seems like, how did at some point the wider western church, look at those things as worldly when truly, they’re tools God gave us to partake in building His kingdom here on earth as it would be in heaven? How did we become afraid of intersecting brain science and theology. How did we become afraid of dancing or think it was impure, not meant for the church? How did we minimize the power in artistry, craftsmanship, creativity?
Dancing, creating, developing, enjoying the process, a healthy brain THRIVES on these things and needs them to experience the most optimal amounts of joy God has to offer us here on earth.
These thoughts burning and percolating through my mind and heart, I do not have a ton of substance to stand on this claim besides what I feel might be in my spirit and what I’ve reflected on over the years. I have actual historical research to do, haha!
But. This next move of God, I believe, is bringing about His Kingdom in part, through the Army of Artists He is raising up. There’s a generation of artists rising beyond the shackles of religion & entering into the freedom, joy, power, and intimacy God designed for us all along. One of the most powerful ways to experiencing God’s dancing rhythms of this freedom, joy, power, and intimacy He designed for us, is through the artist eye.
We’re all designed for it. Some are farther along than others, Some are more technical and perhaps immaculate than others. But all are on the same playground, all have opportunity to dive into the unique part of our brain, mind, spirit, merging together to create something beautiful. & not only beautiful, but spiritually powerful, too.
I have the privilege of counseling individuals young and old on a weekly basis. I can’t help but notice a pattern emerging the past 4 months or so. Clients of mine are receiving breakthroughs in ways they haven’t experienced before, one part of it being, they’re opening up to creating, imagining, and getting artistic again. They’re intentionally leaning into this. & they’re seeing transformation in their own lives.
I also can’t help but notice a pattern emerging of God seeming to be bringing believers who are certainly gifted and artistic, yet have felt stunted or hindered from being able to pursue that gifting and creativity, due to lies, religious mentalities, and lack of support and empowerment from other believers. It’s a true honor to COMBAT those lies with them, and watch freedom & joy enter the room.
“you’re an artist, it’s in your design”
“you can lean into this, you can help trailblazer a different way”
“God gifted you with that talent, work at it some more, enjoy that gift He gave you”
“Go create & use it to bless others”
Simple words that have evidently seemed to shed off old ways & clothed individuals with new hope, joy, and excitement to lean into, who they’ve been all along, an artist creating with the Perfect Artist. .
We have got to start tuning more into what God is doing, what He intends to do, and will continue to do in our future. It’s time we embrace what God loves about the artist, about the design, and the pursuit and process of it all. It’s important to Him, let’s allow it to saturate us, and become vital to us too, as a people, together.
Let’s become a Church that empowers the artist within, to stand with God, ride His wave, and learn to ride it really well. Let’s be a Church the allows the potter to be the potter, and us to be the clay. It’s so much better that way, that’s where true joy and fulfillment is found. There is kingdom power to be unleashed here.
“He has filled them with skill to do every sort of work done by an engraver or by a designer or by an embroiderer in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, or by a weaver—by any sort of workman or skilled designer.”
Exodus 35:35
“Then Moses said to the people of Israel, “See, the Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach, both him and Oholiab the son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan.”
Exodus 35:30-35
“David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.”
1st Chronicles 15:16
“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
Romans 11:29
“You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?”
Isaiah 29: 16
