How Great Thou Art: God's glory in the Arts

I remember how I saw colour that day. The green trees, the blue sky, the brown soil, everything vivid and bright. It was the usual walking route with the usual after-work tiredness, but, as if my eyes had been opened from blindness, the mundane became vibrant and I stopped to take it all in.

The words from the popular hymn, How Great Thou Art, come to mind:

When through the woods and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur

And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze

The greatness of God’s works was displayed before me, like an artist exhibiting his masterpieces in a gallery. Hidden in the seemingly dull and ordinary was His beauty being uncovered. I thought to myself “how great is His creation, the work of His hands.” “The heavens declare the glory of God, the sky above proclaims His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,

Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy power throughout the universe displayed

The #creatives of this world only express what The Greatest Artist has gifted to them. They play their instruments to His score; their brush strokes paint His imagination and their poetry flows in the rhythms of His grace.

They are in themselves an expression of His skill in all its diversity. Just as the heavens and the earth declares God’s craftmanship, you and I are also His work. Isaiah 64:8 says, “… O Lord, you are our Father, we are the clay, and You are the Potter, we all are the work of Your hand”. Ephesians 2:10 states that we are His workmanship.

We are not works that are only displayed to be admired, like ornaments, we ourselves have skills imputed to us. In the Old Testament, when it was time to build the Tabernacle, Exodus 35: 35 tells us that God filled the workers with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers. Each artist was filled with God's skill.

I was very encouraged to read that God gives wisdom for creativity (Exodus 28:3). He gives His Spirit and His wisdom for you to use your craft for His glory. Take a look at Bezaliel, in Exodus 35: 31, we see that “God has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts".

Dear #creative, are you wondering where your skills lie in the building of God’s kingdom? Use your art to tell of His greatness like the skies do (Psalm 19:1). Your platform may not be in speaking engagements like some preachers do, it may not be in church leadership as pastors do, but in you, God has put His spirit to make artistic declarations of His endless grace.

Romans 12:6 says “having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…” Your unique platform is an art form.

Be encouraged,

Love

FeyVored

p.s. Thanks to Instagram and Twitter, I can no longer use the word #creative without using the #. Without the #, #creative is not cool. Only the true #creatives will understand :P.
p.p.s Photo by FeyVored at Brockhole, the Lake District. If you haven't been, you have to go!