205 – 5-Minute Mentoring: Is This The Holy Spirit or Is It Me?

Have you ever wondered how to tell when the Holy Spirit is guiding you and working with you in your art or when you are trying to do it all on your own?" If this is you, you're not alone.  This is a question I get a lot from artists all over the world. 

In this episode of 5-Minute Mentoring, and in my blog, I want to share with you a few things that I've learned over the years that have really helped me definitively answer this question for myself.

Connect with Matt online at www.MattTommeyMentoring.com or on Instagram and Facebook @thethrivingchristianartist

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Have you ever wondered how to tell when you're creating with the Holy Spirit versus just kind of doing it yourself? A lot of people struggle with that, and today we're going to be talking about how to recognize that connection here today on 5-Minute Mentoring.

UNKNOWN 0:13

Music

SPEAKER_01 0:14

Have you ever wanted to have someone in your life who you could ask real questions about your art, your business, and even your walk with the Lord? Well, that's exactly what we do every Friday here on 5-Minute Mentoring, where I answer one question from one of my awesome podcast listeners in order to help you start really thriving as the artist you know God created you to be. Hey, my friend, I'm so glad that you're with me here today on 5-Minute Mentoring. You know, a lot of us were raised in this kind of fear-based relationship with the Lord where, I don't know if you were taught this, but I definitely got a big dose of this growing up that, oh, you better be careful that you're doing things right. Oh, you don't want to, quote unquote, miss God. You know, you don't want to be out there on your own and trying to do it yourself and striving and all this kind of thing. And it just put a lot of fear in me to where it did the opposite, I think. What it was intended to do was try to keep you on the straight and narrow. And what it did for me is it just took me off the path totally and paralyzed me because I was so afraid of doing anything that might smack of my own flesh and my own sense of, you know, whatever, that it wouldn't honor the Lord. And I just was scared all the time. And I just kind of, I didn't do anything. A lot of people end up in that kind of paralyzed mode from just religious baggage. Well, Pam's got a question today. She's one of my podcast listeners, and I love the way she asked this question because her heart is to try to figure out, hey, how do I know if I'm actually walking with the Holy Spirit or actually doing things myself? Is there a difference? How do I recognize that? How do I move in that? Well, listen, here's Pam's question.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

Hi, Matt. My name is Pam Alden. I am from Oregon. I'm an acrylic and alcohol My question is, how do you know when the Holy Spirit is guiding you and working with you in your art or when you're trying to do it all on your own? Well,

SPEAKER_01 2:08

hey, Pam, thanks a lot for your question. Remember, guys, if you've got a question for me, you can always go to matttommymentoring.com forward slash podcast and ask me a question there. That's how we get the questions for five minute mentoring. So if you've not done that. please feel free to go on over there and do it, all right? So Pam, again, thanks for this question. The whole concept of, you know, am I doing this with the Lord or am I doing this on my own? I want to kind of back up a little bit and give you a little bit larger view of this, all right? Because the first thing to realize is that God's pleasure and his desire is for you. God's design in your life was created specifically for you. In other words, there's a design, there's a pattern, there's a way of flowing that he designed for you and for nobody else before the very foundation of the earth. And when you got saved, that design got reactivated and energized fully with his presence. You know, I love when the the praises of his people. That word inhabits the praises. That word praises there is this idea of a spontaneous song of an unrehearsed nature. I love that because that's what art feels like to me, right? It feels like coming into the studio and just doing the thing that we feel called to do at that time. Well, guess what? As we do that in concert with the Holy Spirit, that is inviting him into the process, asking his presence to come, you know, just being and doing the thing that God's called us to do, all of a sudden, guess what? He is faithful to his word. He will come and inhabit and lead and guide and comfort through that process. And so it's really, really important for you to realize that God, the very nature of how God works in and through us is that God moves in and through our design that he uniquely created for us. So the whole concept of thinking, well, is this me or is this God? I would say, yeah, it's both. God doesn't want less of you and more of him. He wants all of you to be filled with all of him. Why? Because he created all of you, right? That verse where it talks about, you know, less of me and more of him, that's really talking, I believe, about our flesh nature. This desire to kind of go off on our own, do our own thing with no regard for the presence of God, the leadership of the Holy Spirit, listening to his voice, all that. And that's not at all what you're talking about here. What you're talking about is, hey, I'm saved. I love God. I want to flow in everything that he's got for me. And so that is it then becomes a part of you trusting him in that process, trusting that the things you love, he loves. The things you're drawn to, he's drawn to. Why? Because he created you with that design, all right? See, it's real important that you realize, I guess number two, again, the first part being God moves in and through your design. Number two, it's really important to realize that everything that we have in the kingdom, All right, everything that God's done for us through the cross that is restoring us to life in the kingdom, restoring us as sons and daughters, giving us everything that we need for life and godliness. All right, giving us more than we could ask or imagine, empowering us in what he's called us to do. All of that through the cross was already given to us by his grace, right? Remember, how do you get saved? You get saved by grace. That is, God already did something, all right, separate from what we would ever do. God already did it. God already made a way through Jesus. He already made that decision. So everything that you need for life and godliness is already done. And how do you participate in that? Well, in 2 Peter 1, 3, and 4, it says that we participate in the divine nature through the very precious promises of God. So it's by faith, right? It's by faith that we take hold of the promises of God and we are able to appropriate the things that he's already done in our life into our life right now. Well, the same thing is true when you're receiving from the Lord in your art. You realize that every idea, every inspiration, every skill that you need, everything that has to do with your art process, God is already there. designed those things, those expressions. All of that is already there. The ability to do it, the ability to think it up, the ability to desire it, all of that is already there. This ability to flow with the Holy Spirit is already there. It exists right now in the spirit realm. Well, how do you access it? You access it by faith. So when you go into the studio, it's not a matter of, you know, well, is this God or is this not? Well, I don't know. Is this me or is this him? No, it's a matter of walking in and with a joyful heart saying, Father, thank you that I have the opportunity today to come in and do the thing that you created me to do. Now, Lord, I receive by faith. Again, just like you received your salvation by faith. Lord, I receive today by faith your inspiration, your the movement of your Holy Spirit. Lord, I listen with the ears of my heart for your voice. Lord, I respond with my hands. And God, I trust that you are going to lead and guide and move in and through me during this process. Use me, Lord. Transform me that my work might be used to transform others. Well, how are you doing that? You're doing that by faith. But how do I know if it's me? It is you. It's you being me. inspired and moved by the Holy Spirit. All right, so it's not an either or, it's a both and. See, I just find that when you can come in and you can create out of a place of joy and not judgment, You can't do it wrong. See, the problem comes and the fear comes and the anxiousness comes and the self-doubt comes when you approach this process with judgment as opposed to joy. Judgment says, I don't know if this is God. I don't know if I'm doing it right. I don't know if I'm going to miss it. Joy says, I'm a son. I'm a daughter. I'm already set up for success. God's already given me design. There's no way I can do this wrong. God, you're for me. Holy Spirit, you're my guide, and you're the one that's here to lead me today. Whoo, come on. As you do that, as you do that, Holy Spirit, it's like letting a drawbridge down into the Spirit, receiving by faith everything that he's planned for you. And then the last thing I would say is, you know, you can recognize God. The spirit of God moving in and through you by the fruit of the spirit, right? Are you at peace? Are you joyful during this process? Are you sensing being transformed? Is he transforming people through your art? Is there a sense of his presence as you're creating? Again, all of that. All of that is confirming the movement of the Holy Spirit in your life as you create. So don't make it more complicated than it is. All right. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy the process. Pam, thanks a lot for your question. And again, all of you that are wondering, is it God? Is it me? Listen, it's both. And it's designed that way. And it's a good thing. And I hope you'll go into the studio and create with him today and just receive every good thing that he has for you. My friend, I love you very much. Join me next time here on 5-Minute Mentoring every Friday. And until next time, remember you were created to thrive. All right. Bye-bye.