“Live beyond your original story!” Carl Lenz
When God met Moses at the burning bush, Moses wasn’t ready to be the deliverer of Israel.
But there was a problem. The Israelites were slaves of mob rule in Egypt! They were abused, beaten and taken advantage of during more than 400 years of captivity. Through creativity and the demonstrative powers of God, Moses, an unprepared shepherd, delivered 3,000,000 slaves!
Creativity is problem solving. Throughout history we read of pioneers exploring unknown territories, traveling unfamiliar seas and inventing the unthinkable. Creative persons take initiative while others hesitate. Two things are true: Everyone is a problem-solver and everyone is creative. To those who haven’t developed their God-given strengths, creative people are viewed as having been born “creative”! The everyman challenge is to simply be fully you, fully alive, fully available. Everyone can solve problems from the strength base of their uniqueness.
On a hillside Jesus said something outrageous to the approximately 5,000 gathered there without status, titles or education. He said “You are the Light of the World”! God calls things in us that are not yet natural as though they already are, because He knows how He made us. At some point we have to choose to live beyond our original story. We have to use what we do know until we know more. I have learned that the desire to fit in keeps us out of opportunities we were designed to own! God designed and purposed us for such a time as this.
Gideon’s capacity to deliver Israel remained untapped for years. He spent a lifetime bemoaning what God wasn’t doing. What changed the trajectory of his life were these words: “Go in the strength you do have and save Israel!” (Judges 6:14) Everyone has to find their own starting place. Gideon had to find his. All his life he had lived in his stopping place! His life, cluttered with excuses, needed a fresh perspective. God took him there! He’ll do the same for you.
Hebrews’ writer left us these instructions:
“As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination for the path has been already marked out before us.”
Hebrews 12:1 (PBT)
Creativity is more than being resourceful with other peoples’ thoughts and ideas. Creativity is an attitude. Problem solvers engage in the necessity of the unfamiliar. Creative people engage in asking questions no one else is asking. “What if?” becomes the catalyst of their genre. They keep the volume of their curiosity at full throttle.
Stretching forward must become our daily necessity. Stretching instigates fresh levels of curiosity. The curious explore, travel, and think without having all their puzzle pieces. Creativity requires that we play our hand each day even when we’re not ready. Why? Because there are problems to be solved. Don’t let problem solving become a lost art. Live curious.
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