Devotions Inspired By Beyond BlessedSample

THE CREATIVE INVITE
by Thomas Miller

In the beginning there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Other than the divine God himself, there was nothing. Not even time. And then He spoke. From the heights of His power and glory and from the depths of His multifaceted, multidimensional imagination and ingenuity, He created. “Let there be ... .” And there was. And it was good. 

From the majestic wonder and beauty of the vast expanse of the universe to the refraction of light displaying the colors of the spectrum on the surface of the oceans. From the living creatures freely roaming the earth to the tiniest of molecules giving microscopic order and dimension to all matter, and from all that is seen to all that is unseen—He created. And it was good. 

Beautiful. Breathtaking. Awe-inspiring. The creation reflected its Creator in all of His splendor. But then, as if to show that He actually was saving His deepest, most profound creativity for last, He designed something that actually looked, felt, thought, and talked like Him. Something in His very image. Something that would have authority and creativity. 

He spoke. He created. Man became. 

One of the aspects of the creation story that I find so fascinating is that in the midst of all the creativity God displayed, He actually chose to not fully finish the job. In fact, He let man in on the creative process. 

“Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” Genesis 2:19 

God himself could have named each animal and told Adam what each one was to be named. But He stewarded that creative process to Adam. In fact, I love how this verse shows that God validated Adam’s creativity by saying “whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” God didn’t say to Adam, “Nice try, but those names just aren’t good enough. You really need to step it up. You’re just not as creative as I am.” No, God clearly invited Adam into the creative process and then validated him in his efforts. I believe God is still inviting us into His creative process today. 

As ones who have been formed in the image of God—the ultimate creative genius, we have the ability to be creative and exercise ingenuity in every aspect of our lives, whether at home, in business, or at play. And when our creativity is coupled with God’s presence, the results can truly be astounding. What we make can bring glory to God. 

Let’s steward the creativity God has given us so we can more clearly see His glory on display in our lives.  

PRAYER
Father, I ask that You help me see that You’ve invited me into Your creative process. Help me to see ways that I could be creative and show Your glory on display in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

MEMORY VERSE   
Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you. HEBREWS 13:17