This is the greatest enemy of creativity: Hurry and busyness. You may have already thought about something you should be doing rather than reading this article. Creativity requires down time. It requires intentional spaces in our calendar. It requires wandering thoughts, as we envision shapes while looking at clouds and laying in a cool grassy meadow.

To hurry is to miss God’s creative presence that He desires to saturate your existence. To be consumed with busyness is to miss the “still small voice” of God’s creative nudge, bringing life and purpose to your daily routine. When your calendars are surrendered to God, your life, your job, your relationships and your purpose will be a creative fire, fueling personal fulfillment as well as being an encouraging spark for those who pass through your life. You and God go create something special.

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The world will attempt to give us “knock-off” creative experiences. Just as Satan knows how to tap into your desires, he also wants to sabotage your spiritual passion and squash your dreams. It can be unhealthy habits, substance abuse or a relationship that distracts us from God’s creative purpose for our lives. We must discipline our hearts to see through enticing counterfeits to the depth of love and support God desires to give us to exercise His creative will in our lives.

If you are not the best athlete, why try? If you are not the best writer, why write a book? We fall into the lie of comparisons all the time. We are not smart enough, talented enough, connected enough or wealthy enough to really be creative.

God created the fragile flower that lives only a few days and dies, as well as the hardy bear that rules the forest. Both are beautiful, have purpose and both were intentionally orchestrated. You have been created and are being orchestrated as part of God’s eternal purpose. Don’t compare yourself to others; establish your identity as God’s image-bearer and be creative.

Being created in the image of God affords us the supernatural possibility for all creative pursuits. Additionally, God gave mankind dominion over the Earth to exercise our creative connection to Him whether through an invention, music and art, caring for the Earth, or enriching someone’s life in a specific and unique way.

Life’s circumstances drain creativity from us. We lose a sense of God’s love breathing through us amid turmoil, pain, adversity or depression. Our spiritual act of worship is to rigorously guard God’s creative force in our lives. Do not let present circumstances rob you of creativity to pursue your dreams.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” – Ecclesiastes 3:11 

In pondering the ways God loves us, giving us creativity may not appear high on that list. However, God is the author and perfector of creativity in all its forms. From spectacular Arizona sunsets to oddities like a duck-billed platypus, a creative God brings life, color and texture to our existence. Not only does he reveal His deity in creative design and function, but he has also entrusted us as His image-bearers to tap into the creative force that designed the heavens and earth.

We may not readily observe the depth of opportunity we have for creative juices to flow through our minds which materialize through our skills. Our challenge is not allowing the limitations of a broken world to trap us into a creativity-killing box as we bend under life’s adversity and uncertainty.

To embrace all of life’s God-entrusted creativity, we must identify and destroy anything that keeps us from being a creative force that brightens up our corner of the world no matter how dark and mundane it may appear. Here are some killers of creativity which not only hinder us but darkens God’s image shining through our lives.