We’re in a season where God is breathing on the creative in a unique way. In fact, I believe God can use our creative expressions as a catalyst for revival! The prophet Zechariah tells us that when the people of Judah were in despair with no hope left, the craftsman (or the creatives) came to defeat the powers of darkness. Never underestimate the power of creativity. It’s a spiritual weapon that terrifies the enemy!
For more on this, check out these previous posts: “BUT THE CRAFTSMEN” and “WHEN IN WAR, CREATE.” And see Zechariah 1:18-21 and 2:1-5.
With the exception of a few verses, we know almost nothing about Jesus's earthly childhood and adolescence. There are 30 years - over 10,000 days - of events from His life that are unrecorded in Scripture. But there is one detail about the early years of Jesus that we are privileged to know: God chose Joseph to be Jesus's earthly father, and Joseph was a carpenter... a craftsman.
God specifically chose the home of a craftsman for Jesus to be raised in.
-Not a priest, even though Jesus would be our great High Priest.
-Not a king, even though Jesus would be the King of kings.
-Not a shepherd, even though Jesus would be the Good Shepherd.
-Not a fisherman, even though Jesus would be a fisher of men.
Not a farmer or a doctor or even a teacher, even though all of those professions seem to be a more suitable choice.
If I were interviewing candidates to be the earthly father of Jesus, a craftsman would be last on my list. But guess what... on God's list, a craftsman was first. Why?
Maybe it's because of the way a craftsman thinks. The way he sees the world. The way he interacts with it. The way he can bring things into existence... molding, shaping, creating something from nothing. Sound familiar? A craftsman - who could reflect the Heavenly Father more? God, the Creator of the universe, chose an earthly creative to raise His Son. I believe when God saw Joseph, He saw someone that looked like Him... right down to His creative pulse.
Growing up in Jospeh's home meant the developmental years of Jesus were impacted and influenced by a craftsman. Creativity. That's the environment Jesus was raised in. And it’s an environment that cultivates revival.
Creatives have the capacity to see and hear things others don’t. Artists, you know what I’m talking about. Our eyes and ears just engage with the world differently, finding inspiration in the overlooked or unheard… seeing and hearing things that become a springboard for us to create.
But here’s the thing. We shouldn’t just create by our natural senses — as gifted as they might be. We must also be creating with our spiritual senses.
God is always moving and working and doing a new thing. The trouble is that sometimes we’re not aware of it. However, when our spiritual eyes and ears are opened to what He is doing, we can partner with Him and create space for His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. That’s the kind of creative God desires.
Creatives have spiritual eyes that SEE BEAUTY IN BROKENNESS. When you see a broken situation, what do you see? Are you repelled by its ugliness? Are you offended by it’s appearance? Or can you stop and stare long enough to see what God sees? Are your eyes of faith opened wide enough to see beauty in brokenness?
Michelangelo, one of the greatest sculptors to ever live, said: "Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free."
Aren’t you glad that God doesn’t turn away from our stony hearts… but rather, He can see our beauty within and He knows how to set us free.
In Acts 3, Peter and John are on their way to the temple for prayer. They passed by the gate called Beautiful (what a prophetic name!) and encounter the lame beggar. A broken man, seated in front of beauty. Can you picture the tension of the moment — the great paradox of the man’s life… for 40 years, he sat broken and begging at the threshold of Beautiful… his eye gates taking in what is now about to become is reality… all it would take is a couple of believers who would stop and stare long enough to see what God saw.
Peter and John saw the beggar and looked straight at him intently (Acts 3:4). They saw him through the eyes of faith. They saw the beauty in the brokenness. And what they saw by the Spirit was released in the natural! The man jumped up and walked and leaped and praised God!Creatives stop and stare long enough to see the beauty in brokenness.
Creatives have spiritual ears that HEAR THE PROMISE IN A PROBLEM. Are your ears of faith opened wide enough to hear the promise in a problem? We can’t always control what we hear, but we can choose what we listen to. The bad news might be loud. But God is always speaking. There isn’t a problem in the world that God doesn’t have a promise for. But we have to be listening. Our ears have to be tuned to His voice.
Young David (long before he was king) went to take supplies to his brothers who were on the front lines of battle. While there, David heard Goliath, the Philistine giant, taunting the Israelites (1 Samuel 17:22-24). Everyone became consumed by fear because of this great probelm. But not David… he heard the voice of Goliath, but he listened to the voice of God! He heard the giant’s taunts, but he also heard the sound of triumph!
David the musician, the singer, the shepherd, the creative, heard a promise in the problem. He knew that the living God would not be defied! And while the whole army was running away from Goliath, David ran at him and God gave him the victory! Creatives lean in to listen to the promise in the midst of the problem.
Think of a broken situation. Ask God to show you the beauty He wants to bring out of it. Think of a probelm. Ask God to tell you His promise for it. Every time you see beauty in brokenness you create a space for Heaven to fill the earth. Every time you hear the promise in a problem you create a space for Heaven to fill the earth. This is what a creative does. This is the environment a creative creates.
Jesus, the Son of God, raised in the home of a craftsman. What if we raised up this next generation in the “home of a craftsman.” What if we cultivated an environment where it is natural to see what God sees and hear what God hears. Orphans stay stuck in a cycle of brokenness. It’s all they can see. Orphans are lost amidst the noise of problems. It’s all they can hear.
What if we became the spiritual mothers and fathers that pull sons and daughters out of darkness into beauty and promise. What if we brought the lost into the home of a craftsman and showed them how to see and hear like Jesus. What if we created space for spiritual eyes and ears to be opened. Really it’s not a matter of “what if,” but rather of “we must.” Because if we don’t raise them, the world will… and all the world can offer is more brokenness and problems.
Isaiah 61:1-4, NIV
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
We need creatives… Creatives who see beyond this earthly realm into eternal realities. Creatives who make the unseen seen, opening eyes to what His glory looks like.
We need creatives… Creatives who hear the whisper of Heaven in the wind. Creatives who put a melody to mystery, opening ears to what His glory sounds like.
We need creatives… Creatives who are so intimately intertwined with the Creator that they immerse the world in His glory through each creative expression.
Creatives who gift us with a glimpse into what Jesus is doing and saying. Creatives who release the sights and sounds of His heart, creating space for His kingdom to come, and His will to be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Creative, you have been anointed and anointed by God to release His beauty and promise. Open your spiritual eyes and ears. Steward your sphere of influence and provide them with a “home of a craftsman.” You just might see someone’s life restored.