Lisa Burgess, Author at Do Not Depart

The Lord Is in Your Daily Details {Memorizing Psalm 121:8}

February 20, 2017 by Lisa Burgess 2 Comments

While this is our last official week to memory Psalm 121 together, I pray that you will continue to dwell with God in these words for a long time to come.

This final verse is a fitting conclusion:

“The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.”
Psalm 121:8 (ESV)

The Lord is with us in our daily details, our goings out and comings in. He cares about our trips to the grocery store, He goes with us to our jobs, He settles us in when we arrive home at the end of the day.

He “keeps” (guards, attends to) us with Him at all times.

May this truth settle in your soul this week, that you are never alone, that you are always kept, always loved.

For more study, read here.

Thank you for journeying with us through this Psalm. How has the Lord shown Himself to you through Psalm 121 these past 6 weeks?

Please leave a comment here or visit our Hide His Word Facebook group to continue the conversation.

The Lord is in our daily details. This week we finish memorizing #Psalm121. #HideHisWord

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See all the posts on Psalm 121 here.

Is This Fake News? I Need a Witness

February 16, 2017 by Lisa Burgess 25 Comments

is-this-fake-news_donotdepart — Is this a gigantic frozen spider web? No. It’s an ice sculpture. Story here: http://www.snopes.com/frozen-spider-web-sculpture

We sat in a circle for the second week in a row. We ladies were still getting acquainted in our new Bible study group. The ice-breaker game began: Tell two truths about yourself and one lie. See who can figure out which is which.

I said these three statements about me:

I eat two cookies almost every day.
I’m the third of ten siblings (3 girls and 7 boys).
I survived a hurricane on my honeymoon.

What Is Fake? What Is Real?

Sometimes it’s hard to tell the truth from a lie. It’s always been that way (ask Adam and Eve).

But in this age of social media, internet news, and photoshopped pictures, it is increasingly hard. And for the younger crowd, the ability to distinguish fact from fiction declines even more (see this study of students who can’t distinguish true from fake news).

But fake news doesn’t come at you only about current events and politics.

Fake news also tells you lies about yourself.

You’re not good enough
You’re not smart enough
You’re not pretty enough

And fake news wants you to believe the biggest lie of all:

God could never love someone like you.

How to Disprove Fake News

But the truth is that God not only can love someone exactly like you, God does love you, exactly as you are.

How can you know that this isn’t another piece of fake news?

Find a Witness

Because God gives you a first-hand witness.

As we study the Holy Spirit this month, one aspect of the Spirit that we often overlook is His role as a witness.

A witness is someone who testifies and gives evidence. He affirms what he has seen or heard or experienced.

What has the Spirit seen and heard? That we are indeed God’s children (Romans 8:16).

And where did the Spirit learn that? From God Himself. The Spirit knows the very thoughts of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-11).

Consider Your Sources

You can also back up this truth of God’s love by fact-checking. Talk to other believers who are witnesses with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said those who walked with Him then would also bear witness (John 15:27). But you likely know many who walk with Him now. Let them also bear witness to you about His genuine love.

Count Your Personal Experience

Another way to disprove fake news is to appropriately evaluate your own experiences. As a follower of Christ, you have received the Spirit Himself to help you grasp His love (1 Corinthians 2:12). Practice an intentional awareness of His presence with you. The Spirit is an internal witness who can affirm that you are truly cherished by your Creator.

The Truth Sets You Free

When you believe the Spirit’s testimony, you will better understand that you are never alone or unloved. You always have company wherever you go. The Spirit has been given to you as a gift of God’s presence (Romans 5:5).

The Spirit’s presence also gives you peace (John 14:26-27) and ultimate freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).

The Spirit is the one who testifies that you have eternal life (1 John 5:6 and 1 John 5:11).

The Spirit is truth. He is credible. You can rely on Him to be an honest witness.

Of my three statements above, do you know which two are true and which one is false?

Unfortunately, I do eat cookies (or something sweet) most every day. And thankfully, I did survive Hurricane Iniki in Hawaii at the end of my honeymoon (imagine a “romantic” four days on an island with no water, no electricity, no A/C, no clean clothes).

But I am not the third of ten siblings; I’m only the third of four. My family isn’t that large.

Or is it?

As a chosen daughter in God’s family, my siblings actually number more than the stars in the sky and grains of sand on the beach. The Spirit is my witness that I am surrounded by love.

That is true and good news!

3 Ways to Disprove Fake News. Do you need a witness? #WhoIsTheHolySpirit

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How do you debunk fake news? Who has been a witness in your life of the true news of God’s love? Please share in the comments.

Your Life Is Kept {Memorizing Psalm 121:7}

February 13, 2017 by Lisa Burgess Leave a Comment

We have only two weeks left as we memorize Psalm 121. We hope your time with the Lord in this psalm, whether a little or a lot, has been meaningful.

This week let’s look closer at the verb and its object in the last half of Psalm 121:7.

“The LORD will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.”
Psalm 121:7 (ESV)

Here are four different translations:

ESV: He will keep your life.
NIV: He will watch over your life.
KJV: He shall preserve thy soul.
NKJV: He shall preserve your soul.

The verb keep (or watch or preserve) is from the Hebrew word shamar (H8104). This is its fifth use in Psalm 121 so far (it’ll be used again in Psalm 121:8). It means to keep, to hedge, guard, or protect.

The noun life (or soul) is from the Hebrew word nephesh (H5315), meaning that which breathes, vitality.

How does the Lord keep our life safe? Do dangers never befall us? No, we all have times of danger and falls. And eventually, physical death.

But at our deepest core, in the vital places of our soul, we are safe in the Lord’s care.

Regardless of what may happen in our circumstances or our bodies, the life of our spirit is protected because the Lord says so.

For more study, read here. “If the soul is kept, all is kept.”

What does “keeping your life” mean to you? Please leave a comment here or visit our Hide His Word Facebook group to continue the conversation.

He keeps your life. Memorize #Psalm121 v7 this week. #HideHisWord

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By Day or By Night, No Strikes {Memorizing Psalm 121:6}

February 6, 2017 by Lisa Burgess 2 Comments

What does the author of Psalm 121 mean when he says this:

“The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.”
Psalm 121:6 (ESV)

Never be burned by the sun? Never freeze at night?

No. These natural occurrences happened to the psalmist. These happen to us, too. (Jacob would agree, Genesis 31:40.)

With poetry, we look beyond the literal. We go to deeper places.

As you memorize Psalm 121:6 this week, ask the Lord how to interpret these words in your own life.

How has God protected you already in 2017?

For more study, read here.

Please leave a comment here or visit our Hide His Word Facebook group to continue the conversation.

Go to deeper places with poetry and God. Memorizing #Psalm121. #HideHisWord

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At Your Right Hand {Memorizing Psalm 121:5}

January 30, 2017 by Lisa Burgess 5 Comments

We’ll focus on memorizing only one verse this week, Psalm 121:5. Join us if you can!

The “right hand” is mentioned over 160 times in the Bible. What does it mean? The right hand signified strength and a place of authority (for example, Christ is at the “right hand” of God interceding for us, Romans 8:34).

The right hand was also the hand used for blessing other people. (Remember when Jacob crossed hands and blessed the younger child, Ephraim, with his right hand instead of the older child, Manasseh, Genesis 48:14).

“The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade on your right hand.”
Psalm 121:5 (ESV)

As we rest in verse 5 this week, let’s thank God for being our shade of both strength and blessing.

For more study, read here.

God keeps; He shades. We’re blessed. Memorizing #Psalm121 v5. #HideHisWord

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What does the Lord’s “right hand” mean to you? Please leave a comment here or visit our Hide His Word Facebook group to continue the conversation.

Who Is Guarding You? {Memorizing Psalm 121:3-4}

January 23, 2017 by Lisa Burgess Leave a Comment

In week 2 of memorizing Psalm 121, we’re introduced to our first two uses of “keep.” There will be six uses of “keep” before we’re finished. (“Keep” is also translated “watch” and “preserve” in other translations.)

“He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
Psalm 121:3-4 (ESV)

“Keep” is from the Hebrew word, shamar. It means to hedge about, to guard, to protect.

Who do you want to protect you?

Someone strong.
Someone who cares.
Someone who is always alert.

The only One who can keep you perfectly is the Lord.

As you meditate on these scriptures this week, feel blessed and walk confidently because you are being guarded by the Lord Himself, both your personal steps (your foot) and as a community of God’s people (he who keeps Israel).

For more study, read here.

When have you strongly felt the Lord’s protection in your life? Please leave a comment here or visit our Hide His Word Facebook group to continue the conversation.

Who do you want to protect you? Memorizing #Psalm121. #HideHisWord

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Get Your Help Here {Memorizing Psalm 121:1-2}

January 16, 2017 by Lisa Burgess Leave a Comment

This week we begin memorizing Psalm 121. [Sign up now to receive resource links and weekly email reminders.] But even if you’re not memorizing, join us in reading along every Monday for six weeks.

We don’t know who wrote this Psalm, when, or on what occasion. But we can understand why:

To build confidence in the Lord’s care.

The psalm can be broken into four stanzas, with two verses in each stanza. This week we learn the first stanza.

Verse 1 asks a question; verse 2 answers it.
Who will help me? The Lord will.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:1-2

The technical term for the poetic structure used here is a chiasm (pronounced ky′-az-um). Chiasms are repetitions of similar ideas in reverse order. You can find them throughout the Old Testament as they were widely used to add extra emphasis. (Read more about chiasms here.)

Here’s the chiasm in Psalm 121:1-2:

A – Creation (the hills)

B – My help come(s)

B’ – My help comes

A’ – Creation (heaven and earth)

Where will we look for help this week?

We often look to money, to our family, to a change in our situation, etc. And God can and often does work through those things.

But instead of looking at created things for help, let’s look directly to the source, to the Creator Himself.

These two verses are the only ones in this psalm to use pronouns in the first-person: “I” and “my.”

Let’s keep it personal this week, too. I look and you look. My help and your help will come from the Lord.

For more study, read here.

What kind of help do you need this week? Please leave a comment here or visit our Hide His Word Facebook group to continue the conversation.

It’s personal. From where will your help come? Memorizing #Psalm121. #HideHisWord

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Pray, Plan, Print…Memorize Psalm 121

January 13, 2017 by Lisa Burgess 2 Comments

We’ve prayed and planned and printed.

A community of over 200 women and men have signed up and are ready to receive the truths of Psalm 121 beginning Monday, January 16.

It’s not too late if you want to join in. Get on our Psalm 121 email list now to be notified each week for the next six weeks about our verses, first letters, downloadable resources, and checklists.

None of us can do it on our own.

Our help will come from the Lord (Psalm 121:2).

Pray, plan, print…Memorize #Psalm121 beginning Monday. Join now! #HideHisWord

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3 Ways to Grow Your Faith When You Don’t Know What to Do

January 12, 2017 by Lisa Burgess 26 Comments

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”
Romans 11:33-34

Google is my go-to source for quick answers.

When I want to know how old someone is, I google it.
When I want to see the menu at Local Taco, I google it.
When I’m looking for a TED talk on slow living, I google it.

But Google doesn’t know everything.

Google can never replace God.

So when Google doesn’t satisfy and God seems slow to answer, how do we handle our uncertainties?

This month we are focusing on renewing our minds through our attitudes in the new year (so far we’ve looked at optimism and gratitude through humility).

But what do we do when we have this attitude: “I NEED TO KNOW NOW!”?

The Insecurity of Uncertainty

When we don’t know whether to call the doctor or which job to take or even what to make for dinner, we can feel uncomfortable. Our brains don’t like gaps. We like to know. And when we don’t know, we can feel anxious or afraid.

Our insecurities can lead us to doubt God’s goodness. They can spur us to hoard today’s resources when we’re unsure of the arrival of tomorrow’s resources. They can paralyze us against timely decisions as we stall for more and clearer information.

And conversely, when we’re too proud of what we think we do know, we can become harsh and judgmental and legalistic (1 Corinthians 8:1 – “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up”).

How to Accept Not Knowing

What can we do with our doubts? For 2017 we can resolve to do these three things to make peace with uncertainty.

1. Resolve to see grace in the gaps

Look back over your life. Were you given 100% complete information before you decided where to live or married your spouse or settled on a major? No.

But in the midst of our lack of knowledge, God has always been faithful. Even when we’ve made bad decisions.

If we turn our backs on His guidance, He still never turns His back on us. Through the consequences, He provides a path forward from any mess we create, if we’ll seek it.

Look for the grace He’s giving you in this moment. He has armfuls of new grace every morning to fill in all our gaps of uncertainty. Resolve to acknowledge His presence as your constant companion.

“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23

2. Resolve to be content with less information

Let’s face it. We’ll never know everything we want to know in this life. And that’s a good thing. Some things we don’t need to know. God sometimes spares us by not revealing the very things we ask to know.

Can we trust God in 2017 to keep us posted on what we need to know? Yes. When we are less greedy with having to know, we can settle into uncertainty as a protective place. God won’t keep us in the dark unnecessarily, so let’s not force His hand into showing us more than what’s helpful.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my [God] ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:9

3. Resolve to embrace mystery

Finally, let’s resolve to thank God for handling the enigmas in our lives. Can knowing that He knows be enough for us? While being in-the-know can initially seem comforting, we’re not wise enough or strong enough to handle the responsibility.

But God is. He has absolute power. He has infinite wisdom. And He has unending love to manage our lives in the best possible manner. Be grateful for that.

“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.”
Psalm 139:6

Grow Your Faith

Do these resolutions mean we lock down our brains and stop trying to learn more? Of course not. God wants us to excel in everything, including knowledge (2 Corinthians 8:7). Wise people store up knowledge (Proverbs 10:14). Keep studying. Continue learning.

But our faith flourishes when we trust Him even without perfect knowledge. Making peace with uncertainty leaves room for God to work. And for us to move forward.

Even when our minds are questioning, our hands are shaking, and our mouths are mumbling, “I just don’t know,” we can place our security in God’s omniscience.

We don’t have to understand everything along our journey.

But we can understand enough to show up with God for the ride. That’s faith.

Not even Google can explain that.

When we just don’t know, then what? 3 Resolutions for Uncertainty. #RenewedMinds

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Do you like to know everything, too? What’s your comfort level with uncertainty? How do you make peace with what you don’t know? Let’s talk in the comments.

Related:

Get Ready for Psalm 121 – Next Steps

January 9, 2017 by Lisa Burgess Leave a Comment

Have you signed up yet?

Beginning Monday, January 16, 2017, we’ll memorize Psalm 121 together. We’ll go slow but steady, at a pace anyone can follow, yet fast enough to know we’re making progress.

You can sign up now to memorize Psalm 121. You’ll receive links to printable resources, extra study helps, and weekly email reminders of the verses we’re learning. We’d love for you to join us on this journey.

What’s Psalm 121 About?

Psalm 121 is one of fifteen psalms titled “A Song of Ascents” (Psalm 120-134). Ascending means “going up.” Some commentaries suggest we read these psalms as if one line climbs on the line in front of it. We’ll discover such patterns as we dig into this psalm.

Also suggested is that these songs were used as the Levite singers climbed the steps to the temple in Jerusalem. From where the women stood outside the temple to where the men stood, there were fifteen steps. One psalm could be sung on each step.

Regardless of its background, we can use Psalm 121 today as assurance that the Lord is with us and for us as we do our own traveling through life.

Whether we’re walking this season through dangerous places or in a peaceful valley, God wants us to know He is our help, strong and active to steady us on the path with Him.

Next Steps

To prepare for next week, read or listen to Psalm 121 each day this week. Let the words begin to seep into your heart. Pray that the Lord will make these truths come alive in your daily life.

Get ready to memorize these words for your journey. Next steps for #Psalm121.

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Sign Up Now to Memorize Psalm 121

January 2, 2017 by Lisa Burgess 9 Comments

Start your new year with God by memorizing the beautiful and powerful Psalm 121! Use this short song to remind yourself that the Lord is mighty and that He is for you.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:1-2

Let’s invest six weeks together. We’ll learn eight verses now to gain benefits for a lifetime. We’ve set it up easily so everyone can succeed.

Remember where your Help comes from. Learn it now; keep it forever.

What you need to do:

Pray.

Begin now asking the Lord for His strength and guidance as you memorize. He will make this Psalm personal to you.

Sign up below.

This adds you to the Psalm 121 email list. You’ll receive a short email once a week, now through February, with resources and reminders. [Registration now closed.]

Make your resources.

Download free resources here.

Join a group.

You’ll have support. Join our Hide His Word Facebook group for instant community. Sign up at Scripture Typer for extra practice.

Share.

Here’s a button you can add to your own blog or Instagram. Or send a tweet to your followers so they can join us, too.

Remember where your Help comes from. Learn it now; keep it forever.

Registration now closed.

Your Guide to Memorizing Psalm 121 {Printables}

January 2, 2017 by Lisa Burgess 2 Comments

YOUR GUIDE TO MEMORIZING PSALM 121

3×5 Text Cards
ESV | NIV | KJV | NKJV
3×5 1st Letters Cards
ESV | NIV | KJV | NKJV
One-Page Text
ESV | NIV | KJV | NKJV
One-Page 1st Letters
ESV | NIV | KJV | NKJV
Journal Pages
ESV | NIV | KJV | NKJV
Bookmark Schedule
Button
Audio (or listen at ESVBible.org)
Memory Checklist

For extra community, join our Hide His Word Facebook group.

Post pictures on your Instagram with #Psalm121 and #HideHisWord. Share tweets using #Psalm121 and #HideHisWord.

Survey Results on Memorizing Bible Verses

December 28, 2016 by Lisa Burgess 2 Comments

We would all love to draw closer to the Lord in 2017, spend more time in prayer, be more active in helping others.

One path to successfully meeting our spiritual goals is to plant God’s truths deeper in our hearts through scripture memorization.

We asked. You responded.

We appreciate each one of you who filled out our survey on memorizing Bible verses this month.

According to the results, over a third of us have tried to memorize a chapter, but not finished. (Never tried: 15%. Memorized 1-2 chapters: 21%. Memorized 3 or more chapters: 26%).

What keeps us from successfully memorizing a chapter? Responses included:

I’m too tired
I don’t have enough accountability
I’m not disciplined enough
I don’t have a specific plan
I’m inconsistent with it
My memory is too bad
I’m too busy

We hear you.

For our next memory challenge—details and registration coming January 2!—we will be here with a schedule, a community, reminders, printables, and a suggested structure for us to learn the words together.

See more results from the survey in the infographic below. Again, thanks to all who participated.

3 Ways to “Go Tell It on the Mountain”

December 15, 2016 by Lisa Burgess 23 Comments

“How wonderful it is to see someone coming over the hills to tell good news. How wonderful to hear him announce, ‘There is peace! We have been saved!’ and to hear him say to Zion, ‘Your God is the king!’”
Isaiah 52:7 (ERV)

What’s the last big news you’ve shared? Who did you tell first?

When we have really good news, we don’t want to keep it to ourselves.

We’re looking at popular Christmas hymns this month. In “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” the shepherds had great news to share.

What is ours?

While shepherds kept their watching
O’er silent flocks by night,
Behold throughout the heavens
There shone a holy light

~ ~ ~

Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

But we’re not one of the shepherds. We didn’t hear the angels or see baby Jesus or run to tell others.

What do we have to share?

We often don’t even know what our own good news is. Yes, we know the broader story: Jesus came as a baby to save the world. But sometimes the generality of that message loses its punch in the daily specifics of our lives.

What is your good news? If you’re in the midst of your own personal struggles, how can you confidently tell others that Jesus is the giver of peace and joy? And who wants to hear what you have to say anyway?

Take a step closer to this song. Discover three ways in which we, too, can “Go Tell It on the Mountain.”

1. Tell Your Part of the Story

We don’t know the exact author of this song. But we do know it was written by African-American slaves in the American south by at least 1865. Life was extremely difficult for them. They endured or died from atrocities that most of us can hardly even imagine.

Yet these are the ones who wrote a song of good news?

Yes. Perhaps especially during the hard times, we notice God’s small and large graces even more keenly. We’re looking for hope. And hope can be found.

Pay attention to where you see God’s goodness in your own life. Even in difficult circumstances.

That’s your part of His story that you’re responsible to tell. And it’s an important part of the story, however small you may feel it is. It’s nothing you create yourself. Just share what you’re seeing and hearing.

2. Tell Those Who Need to Hear

Negro spirituals were written and sung by and for those who needed hope. They needed to remind each other that God wasn’t finished yet. Justice would still come. Righteousness would prevail in the end.

We need to hear those messages, too.

Who in your life needs to hear words of hope?

Maybe when they hear how God has worked and is working in your corner of the world, they can feel hopeful that He is powerful and kind enough to do it in their corner, too. Your story is meant to be shared.

God works in your life for more than just you; it’s meant for others, too.

3. Tell It Wherever You Go

Like most Negro spirituals at the time, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” was originally passed on as an oral tradition among plantations, not as a written one. Only when John Wesley Work, Jr., the son of a church choir director and a Greek/Latin professor himself, collected songs to compile in the songbook, Folk Songs of the American Negro, in the early 1900s, did “Go Tell It on the Mountain” become widely known.

It’s since been sung millions of time, and continues to be sung in many different styles and by many different voices. (Watch the video below.)

Where can we sing our good news today?

Wherever we naturally find ourselves. We don’t have to have a stage or a recording contract or an audience. Our friends and co-workers and families are the ones who listen to us talk about other things; why not hear us talk about what Jesus has done for us?

We can be confident that God will put the right people in our lives who can benefit by the message we have to share about Him. Just as the shepherds told those around them about the birth of Jesus, we, too, can share with those around us about the life of Jesus.

When we share joy with others, we create more joy for ourselves. Our faith increases when we are more attentive to God’s works and goodness. It brings Jesus honor when we tell others how good He is.

Sharing Jesus is sharing Love. That is good news.

Go tell it yourself. On the mountain, over the hills, and everywhere.

Watch and hear:

Especially from 1:27 onward, enjoy this beautiful version of “Go Tell It on the Mountain” by The Mississippi Mass Choir. It will bring you joy.

“Go Tell It on the Mountain”

[If you can’t see the video, click here]

You’ve seen something. Are you sharing it? Go Tell It on the Mountain #ChristInTheCarols

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What good news from this year can you tell?
Who has shared good news with you this past year?
Please share in the comments.

Related:

Listen to this week’s episode of Pass the Mic podcast – Safe Havens in Tumultuous Times – to be encouraged by the faith and strength of the black church in times past as well as in the present.

Quick Survey on Memorizing Bible Verses

December 12, 2016 by Lisa Burgess 2 Comments

If you want to memorize more Bible verses in the new year, we are preparing for you!

We’ll announce the details within the next few weeks.

But this week, we need your help. Can you take a couple of minutes and fill out this 10-question survey? We want to hear your preferences on how and what you like to memorize.

Survey closes this Sunday, Dec. 18. No names or email addresses please.

Thank you!

More resources for Scripture Memory here

Are You Scared of the Light?

November 10, 2016 by Lisa Burgess 26 Comments

Are you scared of the dark?

Or scared of the light?

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,
Genesis 1:14
and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.
Genesis 1:15
And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.
Genesis 1:16
And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
Genesis 1:17
to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:18
And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
Genesis 1:19

As we study our new series this month, God the Creator, we’re also looking at our own creations. Because God is creative, and we are made in His image, we also are creative.

When God created something, He displayed it. He made it available.

But when we create something, we often want to hide it.

Why are we afraid of the light?

If we show others who we are, what we’ve done, how we love, we’re often afraid of being rejected. Of not being good enough. Of our creations being unappreciated or devalued.

But human approval isn’t our goal. Striving for fleshly perfectionism only hinders, not helps. Creativity begets creativity, and with God involved, it’s always enough.

What Are You Making?

What are we creating anyway? Maybe you’re an artist by profession. You paint or sculpt or illustrate.

But there are infinite ways to be creative that extend beyond the traditional definition.

Perhaps you write a blog.
Or you work with children.
Or you prepare three meals a day for your family.
Maybe you heal broken bodies or keep track of finances or wait tables.

Each of those is an act of creation.

And more importantly, done with the motivation to honor God, they also are each an act of love.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:14
Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
Matthew 5:15
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16

How can you use your creations as a light on the hill for God to be glorified?

Shine the Light

Start with one step. If there’s a project you’ve been wanting to start, instead of being overwhelmed by the workload to get to the finish line, just do the first next thing.

Then do it afraid. None of us wants fear as a sidekick. But we can’t wait for fear to disappear before we share our gifts of love with the world. We may have to hit “publish” on our blogs with trembling fingers or say “Nice to meet you” to a new neighbor with a shaky voice. Put fear in the shadows when your light needs to shine.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.
John 1:4
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5

As God created the sun to shine in the day and the moon to shine in the night, He also created us to be brilliant reflections of His love.

Plants grow toward the light to feed their leaves; we, too, grow toward the Light to replenish our souls. When we mirror His image back to those in our lives, we release beautiful things that need to be seen.

Walking in the light is safer than hiding in the dark. Whatever our gifts and talents are, if we use them to serve others, they’ll illuminate and glorify God.

For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.
Ephesians 5:8

Walking in the light is safer than hiding in the dark. #GodtheCreator

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Extra Study

Close your eyes for 10 seconds. Can you still tell where light is coming from?
Open your eyes and look toward the brightest source of light where you are. Is it natural or man-made? What is it helping you to do?
Read through these verses on “light” from Blue Letter Bible. Which one stands out to you?
Say a prayer of thanks to God right now for the Light in your life and how He will help you shine light on your own creativity for His sake.

Related:

Do you think you’re a creative person? What prevents you from releasing your creations to the world? Please share in the comments.