Clean off your creative lamp

Now that you have dug out the ‘lamp’ of your creative intelligence, I hope you are getting used to turning it over in your hands, so to speak. Does it feel strange and unfamiliar to you; something that doesn’t quite have a place in your life yet?

The next step is to clean off your lamp.

Rubble gets in the way of progress

Have you ever been halfway through a big clean-up project at home, when you suddenly feel overwhelmed and want to run away? The other day I found myself sitting on the floor of my home office surrounded by files, papers, boxes of photographs, and drawers full of random stuff when I suddenly felt too exhausted to continue. It had all started with so much energy and hope saying to myself, “Today I will clean out my office. At last. This is so satisfying!” But around halfway through the job the fatigue set in, the rubbish had piled up, and I seemed nowhere near finishing. I wanted to close my eyes and wish it all into the right place. Where is Mary Poppins when you need her?

Nehemiah is trying to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 4:1-10). The walls are halfway finished, the builders are overcome by fatigue and there is so much rubble to be moved.

In today’s passage, we see how piles of rubbish/rubble contributed to the discouragement of the people of Jerusalem. Rubble gets in our way. Former Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren says: “We all have rubble in our lives: physical rubble, mental rubble, emotional rubble, spiritual rubble. It can cause a sense of overwhelming and it can trip us up; literally and figuratively.”

What kind of rubble could be getting in the way of your creativity? Awareness is the first step to success. God is here to help you clear the rubble away. As Nehemiah said in Nehemiah 4:14a (NLT):

“Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the leaders and the people and said to them, 'Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord who is great and glorious.' "

Creative exercise

Pick ONE drawer or shelf to clean out. Restore cleanliness and order to the place. Complete this task prayerfully asking God that, while you work, He will bring to mind the things in your life that may be cluttering up and hindering the flow of your creativity.

Prayer

Dear Lord, thank You that You are always by my side to help and support me. Open my eyes to any rubble that is piling up in my life. Help me to work through it systematically and to develop good habits for keeping it in check. May I not get discouraged but remember that You are here with me and that nothing is impossible with You. Amen.