How to Pursue Your Creative Calling

Pursuing your creative calling is not just for those who have the best education, who are trained in the arts, or who come from wealthy families. And it’s not just for painters, writers, singers, etc. Being creative can simply mean making an aesthetically looking dish for your loved ones, or even just helping a friend decorate her home.

When we are faced with the choice to use the gifts that we’ve been given or to just keep them to ourselves, we must realize that the latter is not an option, it’s an opportunity to transform and to let God get us ready for where He’ll place us later.

How do we even start doing this? What we should know is that it isn’t impossible. Keep reading to learn more about how you can start using gifts and follow your creative calling:

“The greatest thing I’ve ever done, came in the marching.” Mike Todd

1. Start with what you have and march on!

The greatest step that we can ever take is to keep marching forward despite not having all that we need at the beginning of our creative paths. When we come to a halt in our creativity, whether it be writer’s block, or realizing that we have missing tools or material to start a new project, that doesn’t mean that we are stuck, this is an opportunity to exercise our gifts. But just how can we march forward in what we have been called to do, if we don’t have all that we need to start?

Let’s have a look at the story of Russian haute couture fashion designer Aleona Isakova. She and a friend started a fashion house in the 90s when food and other material was difficult to come by in Russia. Despite the shortage, she still decided to pursue her vision. With only $300 to start with, she started her business. Eventually, once she began, a Swiss businessman she had met previously, decided to fund her collection. It is when she decided to march on and pursue her passion and in combination with networking, and going to fashion events, she was able to obtain what she needed.

“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.

Luke 16:10 NLT

If we are able to handle the small responsibilities that come with our talents and the small audience that take note of them, then when it comes time to manage the better tools and bigger responsibilities, we will be better equipped for the bigger things which will come along. In Isakova’s case, she used what she had to start, and because she kept going and developing and putting her trust in God, her collection eventually grew to larger audiences and has now been shown in the UK, Israel, Russia, and Australia.

2. Sit still with the idea

“You need to be patient, but not passive. Active patience."

James Clear- Author of Atomic Habits

Now the Hebrew word for “being still” does not mean that you are stuck. Being still implies that you surrender. Surrendering does not mean that you aren’t moving, it just means that you need to surrender the idea of how you think your calling should come to fruition. Take note that this does not imply that you need to let go of the idea, rather it conveys that you need to learn to let go of what you thought you needed to get there.

If we are unsure of what to surrender, go back to the first point in this blog post. Did you tell yourself “ That’s great for her, but impossible for me”? This is a thought that needs to be surrendered. The surrendering process is not done alone, it is done with God. A simple conversation and telling God " Okay I need some help here" is sometimes all you need. Surrendering is a continuous process. Just because things don’t seem to be happening on the outside, does not mean that our gifts are useless and that we should just give up when nothing seems to be happening. The stillness is a time of transformation, learning, and experimenting to get us ready for where we need to be.

Just as you wouldn’t expect a chef at a restaurant to not send you a half-cooked meal from the kitchen, your ideas work in the same way. Imagine ordering food at a gourmet restaurant. Your food needs to be cooked at the right temperature and marinated with the right ingredients in order to bring out the most flavor to satisfy all your taste buds. Now you could decide to go to a fast-food joint halfway through the cooking process, but you would have to ask yourself, “ would it really fill me up?”. To get the full satisfaction and to develop your palate you need to be able to eat the very best, and you want to make sure that the food you eat is cooked by a chef who took all that he had to provide an unforgettable and long-lasting eating experience.

The waiting process isn’t for nothing. It’s there for you to be ready for what is to come. A chef has so many things to offer the client who goes to their restaurant. And not allowing for the chef to show you what he cooked up for you, would mean that his talent would not be put to good use. Waiting is always worth it.

3. Build your team up

“Show me your friend’s and I’ll show you your future” Craig Groeschel

Along with building patience and letting go of the thoughts that don’t allow us to move forward in our creative calling, sometimes what we need to let go of are the thoughts and ideas that have been instilled in us by our friends and family. To have an idea of what your thoughts consist of, think about the times that you spend with your family and friends. Do you have friends and family members that say it is impossible to get by in life? Do they speak about limitations? Do you end conversations feeling drained and like life is a continuous struggle? Or, are those who you spend time with, talk about opportunities? Do they brainstorm ideas with you to help you get ahead? Do those conversations make you feel hopeful?

“The one who walks with the wise will become wise,

but a companion of fools will suffer harm” (Proverbs 13:20 CSB)

I’m not suggesting that you ditch all of your friends and family members who don’t support your creativity. But it is so important to get yourself in an environment where others can not only help you to brainstorm ideas for what you want to do but get yourself in an environment where you can learn from others. You want to find yourself around a crowd that can inspire you to go after what you want and that can help you have a vision. If everyone around you has played it safe and never really went outside their comfort zone, that’s when you know you got to change your crew.

Have you been called to pursue your creative passion? Let me know in the comments which one of these tips has been the most useful!

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