You are special and unique. There is not another person exactly like you. Now, I’m not saying we are all created to be famous influencers and leaders. We can’t all lead; some have to be led. Not everyone can teach; some have to be taught. Some of us are born to be readers, others are meant to be the writers of the material we read.
God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would do good works. God had planned in advance those good works for us. He had planned for us to live our lives doing them.
Ephesians 2:10 International Children’s Bible
But each person walking with Christ has a good work he is created to do.
Each of us has a good thing we are meant to spend our lives doing
Some of us are just born knowing what we are called to do. From a tiny girl, one of my daughters has been convinced she was to be a teacher. Others must live a lot of life before something clicks, and they know they are on the path to fulfilling their destiny.
Most of the time, those good works we are created to do will be things we like to do. Our natural talents and abilities will come into play as things fall into place for us. God opens doors that lead right into something we were made to do.
An Environment of Creativity
What if we could create an environment enabling us to do and be even more productive in doing the good works in our destiny?
My series, A Rich and Satisfying Life, has been examining ways to free us up both mentally and physically. You can’t accomplish much if you are weighed down with a load of things holding you back.
A creative environment would be a safe place where you could explore ideas and test them out without fear of failure. We are all going to fail at some point. That is a given. But we need a safe place to land when failure happens.
We are usually the hardest on ourselves when mess ups happen; so the first step to making an environment that gives birth to creativity is extending kindness to ourselves. Don’t think thoughts toward yourself that you would never express about another person!
Encouraging self-talk goes a long way.
As a believer of Jesus Christ, I think there is an even better way to foster creativity, hanging out with One who knows all about it.
All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.
John 1:3 Christian Standard Bible
Abiding with the Source of Creativity
Seriously. If you are doing life with Jesus, abiding with Him, and He abides with you, ideas are just going to naturally flow. When having trouble with a task, why not just ask Him to help you do what needs to be done?
If you believe my premise, God created you to do the good works He has planned; why wouldn’t you believe He would help you? It just stands to reason He wants you to succeed!
Strip off the weight
As I see it, the second part to creating an environment of creativity would be to get rid of anything keeping us from reaching the full potential of doing the work we were born to do.
There are many things interesting and exciting to do with our time. Some of it is not good for us and we need to stay away from anything that would distract us from our mission. But sometimes, good things distract us as well. If an endeavor keeps us from making an impact with our life’s work, we should pray about getting rid of it.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Hebrews 12:1 New Living Translation
Everything that slows us down must go!
Hey! I’m on a journey. I don’t pretend I’m doing all this perfectly. I’m sharing the goals and dreams I have in my heart in this series, “A Rich and Satisfying Life.” This is my twenty-fifth post of examining a life free from the clutter of both wrong thoughts, attitudes, expectations, and too-full calendars, as well as physical clutter. You can click here to see all the links to the series.
This series is part of a Write28Days challenge sponsored by Anita Ojeda. The challenge is now over, but I am still working at the goal of writing 28 times on my subject.
All photos created in PicMonkey by Jerralea using personal, family and stock photos. Please do not copy.
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I’m linking this post to Inspire Me Monday, Tell His Story, InstaEncouragements Link-Up, Recharge Wednesday, Let’s Have Coffee, Tune In Thursday, Grace at Home, Grace & Truth
Thank you for this wonderful reminder! Just what I needed to hear today.
Thanks for being an encourager, Corinne! Glad you visited!
Jerri, this is great. Thanks for these tips and reminders.
Visiting today from IMM #23
Good to see you, Paula. Thanks for dropping by!
It’s good to be reminded that God has created us for a purpose and for good works and that we must be thoughtful to learn what those works and purposes are. Yet also being careful not to be too distracted by works, not to think we are saved by them, and not to forget them. All of this takes care, prayer, intentionality and thoughtfulness. God help us!
Amy, you bring up a good point. So often, we are tempted to get into the mindset that doing works saves us. But the reality is, the good works are how we prove our gratitude for BEING saved. James says faith without works is dead. If you really have faith, you will want to work.
You are so right – we need God to help us!
Thanks for adding to the conversation.
Jerralea, I love the idea of creating a creative space! I know I simply cannot work in a cluttered environment, and I prefer a clean space for writing. Great tips here! Thank you!
Thanks, Donna! I need a clear space, both physically and mentally, for creating. It is a never-ending task to maintain both!
“Each of us has a good thing we are meant to spend our lives doing.” We need this reminder every now and again. May we stay focused and to task. Thank you for the encouragement today, Jerralea!
It is very easy for me to lose my focus on my calling. We need each other to encourage us to stay on task.
Thanks for visiting, Joanne!
WOW…had I not just begun to ponder these things, the weight would have been far too much for me this day upon reading this great post. I have been thinking that I needed to do something for others and not just myself. I needed to hear what God had to say to me about the gifts He has given me. I have released much in order to be able to volunteer with the local school district in my new city where I moved10 months ago. So I will begin in about two weeks to work with a kindergarten class/teacher two days a week. I am delighted as I have been away from teaching and the classroom for many years. I know things have changed so I get to be a new student too! Caring through Christ, ~ linda
Caring through Christ – I love that! Linda, may you be a blessing to both the students and the teacher in the classroom where you will be working. May God shine through you!
Jerralea, what an encouraging post! in the middle of my current messy life, it’s hard for me to remember some of the points you’ve shared. When God gives us a calling, He wants us to succeed. We need to fulfill our role, a big part of which is asking for His help. 🙂 And, we need to allow God to do His role. This is sometimes hard for me. I tend to want to do my part AND His part. Silly me.
Jeanne, I totally understand. It’s like we think it all depends on us. Thank God, it doesn’t. He wants to partner with us!
What a lovely, inspiring post. Really encouraging.
Thanks so much for joining the Grace at Home party at Imparting Grace. I’m featuring you this week!
We sometimes negate the importance of healthy self-talk, but it can be invaluable to help us accomplish the things that God sets out for us to do. I’m thankful God has patience with us as we sometimes slowly uncover what it is that we were born to do.