I feel as though the church has lost a sense of beauty as a way of worshipping God. Some people think beauty and art are not spiritual. But the truth is that art, creativity and expressions of beauty are spiritual and purposed for worship. To all of you creatives out there, I want to encourage you today and tell you that if anybody told you your craft was not spiritual or that it was a second-class act of worship, that, my friends, is a lie! Your gift is just that—a gift. And if you don’t consider yourself creative, I have news for you today. You are made in the image of God, the Creator. So you are, in your own way, innately creative. It’s time we all start to own our creativity and the spirituality that comes with it.
Artistry Is Spiritual
Let’s go all the way back to the days of Moses. Moses was instructed by God to build a tabernacle for Him. God gave Moses comprehensive instructions for the tabernacle, right down to the smallest detail. It was to be incredibly beautiful with hand-carved statues and pillars, lots of bright- colored materials and loads of gold, silver and bronze. In fact, Moses’ tabernacle was so complex and so ornate that one of his greatest challenges was finding skilled people who could actually build it. After all, the entire Israelite population consisted of former slaves. Yet true to His nature, God had an answer. Check out the exchange He had with Moses from the book of Exodus:
Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of craftsmanship to devise artistic works for work with gold, with silver, and with bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in carving of wood, to work in all manner of craftsmanship (Ex. 31:1-5).
Supernatural Creativity
Bezalel was the very first person in the entire Bible to ever be filled with the Holy Spirit. Like Jesus, Bezalel was filled with the Spirit, but for a distinct, yet different purpose than our Lord. Remember, Isaiah tells us that Jesus was filled with the Spirit specifically to preach the good news, heal the broken-hearted, release captives and free prisoners (See Is. 61:1-4). But Bezalel was filled with the Spirit for a completely different reason. He wasn’t releasing captives or freeing prisoners; instead the Spirit of God in Bezalel gave him the supernatural ability for creativity. He was anointed by God to cut stones, carve wood and create beautiful things with gold, silver and bronze. To Bezalel, artistry was spiritual.
Today, I release you to be completely free and alive in your creativity, not withholding any part of it. I release you from any box that society has tried to put the idea of what true creativity and art is into! God loves art, and so do I. If you don’t consider yourself creative, take some time today to turn away from that thinking and start to discover the innate creativity in you.
Have you ever experienced God in your art? I’d love to hear your stories and testimonies in the comments. {eoa}
Kris Vallotton is the senior associate leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California and cofounder of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM). Kris travels internationally, training and equipping people to successfully fulfill their divine purpose. He’s a best-selling author, having written more than a dozen books and training manuals to help prepare believers for life in the kingdom. He has a diverse background in business, counseling, consulting, pastoring and teaching, which gives him unique leadership insights and perspectives. Kris has a passion to use his experience and his prophetic gift to assist world leaders in achieving their goals and accomplishing their mission.
This article originally appeared at krisvallotton.com.