The Thriving Christian Artist
The Thriving Christian Artist
Your Studio is Holy Ground, Not Just a Workspace
Ever felt that creative spark and wondered where it truly comes from? Your studio isn't just a workspace—it's potentially sacred ground where divine partnership happens.
The concept of sacred creative spaces has deep biblical roots. In Exodus, we see artisans Bezalel and Oholiab filled with God's Spirit to create objects that would transmit His presence throughout their community. Like them, you've been gifted with creativity that flows directly from the Creator Himself. Whether you work in a dedicated studio or a quiet corner of your home, that space holds potential for divine encounter.
Hebrew gives us beautiful insight into creativity through two interconnected words: "yetser" (internal formation/imagination) and "yatsar" (external creation/crafting). Both spring from the same root word meaning "to form or fashion," revealing how creativity moves from inside out—just like God's kingdom operates in our lives. Your studio becomes the meeting point where internal vision takes external form through partnership with the Holy Spirit.
Transforming your creative space into holy ground can be beautifully simple: play worship music to set the atmosphere, use thoughtful lighting to create peaceful conditions, surround yourself with Scripture and inspiration, maintain organization to minimize distractions, and practice sketching as spiritual response to divine inspiration. Most importantly, assume connection with the Holy Spirit who already dwells within you—you don't need to beg for His presence, only raise your awareness of His nearness.
When you intentionally dedicate your creative space to God, something remarkable happens. Your art improves, often producing unexpected beauty, and you yourself are transformed. What you create shifts from mere decoration to powerful declaration of God's goodness. Your yielded creativity becomes a channel through which heaven touches earth.
Ready to experience this transformation? Begin today by dedicating your creative space as holy ground. Pray over it, anoint it if you feel led, and watch how God's presence elevates both you and everything you create. Share this episode with other artists who need this perspective shift, and together, let's become that army of creatives revealing God's glory through our art.
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Have you ever wondered what makes your studio more than just a workspace? Well, what if I told you it's actually a sacred meeting space, sort of a thin place where heaven meets earth, where creativity becomes an act of worship and a partnership with God. Well, that's exactly what we're going to dive into today, as I share how to transform your creative space into holy ground that changes you and everything you make Today on the Thriving Christian Artist podcast. Welcome to the Thriving Christian Artist, the podcast where we hope you connect with God, to bust through the roadblocks that have held you back for years, create the work you love and really live the life you know. God created you to live as an artist in his kingdom. I'm Matt Tommey, your host. Let's get started. Well, hey there, my friend, super glad that you're here with me on the podcast today. Listen, I'm so excited to talk about this whole topic of creating a sacred space for your art, because it really is one that truly can transform your creative process and also your relationship with the Lord, just how you approach your art on a daily basis.
Speaker 1:I want to kick off things in Exodus, of course, exodus 31, the seminal chapter, and chapters on artists in the kingdom of God and this beautiful picture of Bezalel and Aholiab as being both filled and skilled. But I love Exodus 35, 35, where it says he has filled them. Talking about the artisans, he's filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers and designers, embroiderers all of them skilled workers and designers. And I love this because number one it reminds us that you know, all of our creativity, all the skill that we have, it all comes out of a gift of God, right? And those artisans in Exodus, they just weren't making beautiful things for the sake of beautiful things. They were creating something sacred, something that would hold and honor and transmit the very presence of God in their community. And to me I just think that's super powerful and a big reminder for us that the things that we make and the way that we make and the place that we make are really, really important for us to keep at the top of our mind, if we will, because it's so easy for us to just kind of get in the mindset of yeah, I'm just kind of in here doing my thing and this is a little hobby. I have no God specifically formed you for this and you know your creative space, whether it's a like you know, full blown studio, like I've gotten a lot of artists have, or whether it's just a quiet corner in your home, or I used to work in the garage or on the back deck or in the spare bedroom or whatever it is Listen, it doesn't matter where it is.
Speaker 1:Wherever you're working, that can be a sort of sacred space for you as well, a place where you meet with God and co-labor with the Holy Spirit and you actually let your creativity and the things that you're doing artistically become an act of worship. You know, I love in Isaiah 64, 8, it says but now, oh Lord, you are our father, we are the clay and you are potter and all. We are the work of your hand. I mean, I love that. Right, we? We didn't just just happen on this earth. We didn't. We didn't form out of some amoebas just randomly. This is a beautiful picture in God's word of what happens when we yield our creativity to God. He shapes us even as we're shaping things with our hands and with our mind, just like we're fashioning and forming things on purpose, with a purpose, in the studio. He has done and is doing that continually in our lives. We've not only been shaped by him, but we are being shaped by him in his presence, as we sort of invite him in and raise our awareness of him in the studio. Because, listen, I think it's super important to realize you don't have to beg God to come into the studio, right? The Holy Spirit, as believers, he's on board, he's living and active inside of you right now. He's not separate from you, he's not beside you, he's not outside the room or up in heaven and you got to invite him. No, he's on board. And so to me, it's all about raising our awareness of the presence of God, the kingdom of God that is already living inside of us. That's just such a powerful, powerful revelation.
Speaker 1:Now, I love diving into creativity and you know the meanings of Hebrew words. If you've listened to the podcast for a while, you know I love to do that. But I love a couple of different words in Hebrew. One is yet, sir, y-e-t-s-e-r, and one is Yatzar, which is Y-A-T-S-A-R, and these are two beautiful words. Yatzar is actually the word that you see in the Bible that's used for forming or shaping things externally, like a potter is shaping the clay, just like we saw in Isaiah. It's actually like hands-on work, getting your hands dirty right, actually bringing something into being.
Speaker 1:But yet, sir, is about internal formation and you see, this talked about a lot of times in terms of imagination in the Bible, right? So this is our imagination, the visions and ideas and dreams that God is forming inside of us. The cool thing to me and this is really where you know, diving a little deeper gets really interesting these two words come from the same Hebrew root word, which means to form or fashion. Now, of course, one means internal, one means external, but they're deeply connected and it is I kind of like to think of it as two sides of the coin. And in fact, you could probably say it this way Yetzir is the inner formation, the imagination, where God's visions and dreams and all the things that he puts inside of us and that we're putting inside of our imagination, all those things take shape inside of us.
Speaker 1:And Yetzir is the outward shaping, is the crafting and fashioning of those things that have been conceived in the Spirit, in our imagination, but they're actually brought into something tangible. I think for me that gives a full picture of this creative process. You know, the things that God plants inside of us, the things that we sow into our own imagination. As we're walking with the Lord, we're called to shape those things internally with the Holy Spirit, but also express those things outwardly with the Holy Spirit. I just love that and remember this is not just how the creative process works for artists, right? This is how the kingdom of God works, right?
Speaker 1:Whether you're looking at business ideas or family ideas, or looking for a divine solution in your life, in marketing or business or anything that you're facing, we lean on the voice of the Holy Spirit, not only in his word, but also within us. Right, the kingdom of God within us. And we allow him, we co-labor with him. We invite him to. Yet, sir, right Inside of us, to form and shape and bring these things into existence so that they come out on the outside. We form them on the inside so we can express them on the outside, not apart from the Holy Spirit, but with the Holy Spirit. That's God's plan.
Speaker 1:Listen, you've heard me say a million times transformation happens how? From the inside out. Well, creativity happens from the inside out. The kingdom gets manifested in your life from the inside out. Are you starting to see a pattern here? This is how the kingdom of God works and listen, that's exactly what's happening in your creative space, right, your studio. For artists, you and me, this becomes that place where that yetzer and yetzer come together, right when God has planted these deep dreams and visions and passions within us and they start to take form through the work of our hands.
Speaker 1:Listen, this is why it's so important, I think, for all of us to get beyond this idea of oh yeah, this is my little creative space, or I know because I've been mentoring artists for a long time a lot of you feel bad or even selfish for even having a creative space, because you believe the lies of the enemy or you've allowed other people to put their impressions or opinions on your creative place. But listen, your studio is absolutely a creative place. It's not just a place to get things done, it is holy ground. And so when you dedicate your space to the Lord, right, you invite him in there on an intentional basis to move through you and create an atmosphere of his presence in your studio where you can flow with him freely. Listen, he's transforming not only the things that you're creating, he's transforming you. In the process, you get transformed, your art gets to be transformed. You become a sign and a wonder. Your art becomes a sign and a wonder. Your life manifests the kingdom of God. Your art manifests the kingdom of God. Listen now, I think that is just incredible and it raises our awareness of what the Holy Spirit wants to do in and through our lives when we're showing up faithful in the studio every day.
Speaker 1:Now you might be sitting there thinking, okay, matt, I get it, I get it, I get it, I love the idea. But how do I actually do this? Like, give me the practicals right. My wife is a practical, she's like Matt, you know, give me the one. Like, give me the practicals right. My wife is a practical, she's like Matt, you know. Give me the one, two, three right. What are the steps? So let me give you some practical and, I think, simple steps to start making your studio feel like a sacred space.
Speaker 1:All right, one of the things I would say is put some worship music on, maybe worship music with songs, sometimes instrumental soaking music while you work. This to me, just helps set the tone, if you will, the presence of God in the atmosphere. Many, many times you've heard me say I've got my keyboard in my studio, in my office in here. I'll come in and just play a little bit. I'll turn on worship music. I'm really loving right now house fires and if you go on Apple Music and look up house fires essentials um, oh my gosh, that playlist is just like take me in the glory, right. And so I'll just turn that on and I'll just worship a little bit as I'm, as I'm getting started, and just I'm praying in the spirit, I'm just inviting the holy spirit just to raise the water level right in in the studio to me.
Speaker 1:I I love lighting, right. I think all of us artists we're aesthetically oriented and so I love when I can use, you know, especially as I'm getting started in the morning sort of soft light, natural light, you know, just to make a creative sort of peaceful environment for myself. I love to surround myself with inspiration too. You know scripture verses, prophetic words, vision boards. I have a vision wall inspiration wall, I call it in my studio where I've got all sort of just neat things, that beautiful things that I've collected over the years that just inspire me creatively and it helps me to keep myself in that place of wonder as I'm in the studio. You know scripture verses on the walls reading God's word in in the studio. It just helps to keep your heart focused on the presence of God, god's promises and and purposes for your life and art, and and and keep the the focus of your heart on him.
Speaker 1:Now, listen, some of you are going to resist me on this, but I think it's just true. If you, if you really get down to it, working in a clean and organized space just makes you feel better. It really does me, in fact, years ago I used to just work in a rat's nest and listen while I'm working. I know I can get messy, but every day, at the end of the day, I've covenanted with myself to clean off my work table and sweep the floor and make it a more organized space. I just think it. It opens up the space to say, hey, you're ready, you're open to the things God wants to do. You're not coming in trying to clean up a mess, you're out, you're in there in the morning being able to give it your best.
Speaker 1:The other thing that I do a lot not every day, but I really um sketch a lot with, with ideas, especially as I'm, you know, thinking of new commissions or new projects, and I really try to treat that just like I treat my normal prayer journaling sort as a uh sort of a spiritual practice, if you will. You know, I believe, and I hope you believe, that these ideas that you're getting, they're not just separate from the Lord, they're not just because they're coming out of your natural mind. These are things that God is birthing in and through you, and so I think it's incumbent upon us, as artists, to write those things down, right. Habakkuk said what? Write the vision down, make it plain so the runner can run with it. And I think, sketching for you and me, doodling and drawing and sketching out things of ideas that we have, it's just a beautiful, god-centered response that says, hey, I'm listening, I'm paying attention, I'm writing down the things that you're giving me and I'm going to let these marinate and percolate inside my spirit until they come into formation, that yatsar part of that, until it comes into formation with my hands. That's just really, really great. And, again, just a beautiful way to both center your spirit but also remind yourself about what God is doing.
Speaker 1:And, again, just the simplicity of asking the Lord, dedicating your space to the Lord, in fact, one of the things that I've chosen to do and you may think this sounds kind of cheesy or whatever, but I've just recently gotten myself an old vintage street sign that's a yield sign with a big red reflective signs, and I put it over the door of my studio. So every time I walk in it's sort of this visual reminder to yield to the voice of the Holy Spirit in everything I do. I don't know, for me it's like this simple thing, but every time I see it it just sort of triggers something in me and it reminds me that this isn't just about me coming in and doing things in my own strength. It's not me just coming in and recording podcasts and writing books and mentoring artists in my own strength, making art in my own strength no way. It's about me partnering with the Holy Spirit and letting him lead the way. All right, I think all of that you know.
Speaker 1:The enemy, of course, would want to make it a lot more complicated for you. But listen, all this doesn't have to be complicated. They can work together in simplicity to help you create and cultivate this beautiful studio practice in space where, when you come in, you're expecting God to meet with you. And here's the thing and you may have heard me say this before but you don't have to wait, for, like you know, these like big, fancy feelings of, of inspiration you know to strike or whatever. I want you to assume connection right. You're a son of the King, you're a daughter of the King. The Holy spirit is already living inside of you, moving inside of you. He's ready to work, he's already speaking, he's ready to pour out any time that you choose.
Speaker 1:To activate that through walking into your studio every time you create, and so, before your next creative session, I really want to encourage you to pause and pray. Just, you know something simple to say like Lord, I thank you that you're here with me. Help me to be aware of your presence. God, let your presence rise in this place today as I'm listening to your voice and looking for the clues of your spirit today, guide my hands, guide my heart, help me as I create. God, give me words of wisdom and words of knowledge, again just inviting the Holy Spirit into that process. And then just step in right, boldly, believe that God is with you. Right, trust that spirit-led intuition that you have in the creative process.
Speaker 1:Feel free to experiment and play with things and and just watch, listen, because when you invite the Lord into these processes in anything you're doing, but especially in your art. I don't know about you, but every time, the things that I'm creating always come out better, right. They always come out in unexpected beauty. Listen, your art is not just decoration for decoration sake, right. It's a declaration of God's goodness and presence that come into the world through your hands, because you chose to say yes to him in the creative process.
Speaker 1:So I want to encourage you, my friend, this week, even today, dedicate your creative space to the Lord as a holy place, right, praying over it, playing worship music, anointing it with oil. You know, whatever you do, right, be intentional about that and set it apart for the Lord, so that when you walk in there, you expect to meet with him, all right, well, hey, let me pray as we get through today, father, I thank you that, for every listener that's listening right now, god, all across the globe, god, the many thousands and thousands of artists that are leaning in, loving you, listening to your voice, and, Father, I thank you for this gift of creativity that you've placed within each of us. Lord, I pray today that, as we are thinking about making our creative space, lord, a holy place, a sacred place for you, god, I pray that you would stir up fresh vision and passion and faith in our hearts that you'd remind us of how you want to move and dwell in our creative space. God, raise our awareness of your presence as we're in our studios, god, let our work, god, be filled with your life and with your light and with your love and God, I pray that our creative spaces and our lives and the work of our hands, god, will bring glory to you in every way, beyond what we could ever ask or imagine. We thank you for that, lord in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 1:Hey friend, again, thanks for being here today. I hope this episode encouraged you. If it did, would you do me a quick favor? You know we're trying to get this year to 2 million downloads. We are so close, we're so close, and so make sure that you're subscribed to the podcast so you don't miss any future episodes. But also, if you know another artist or group of artists that you think could use some encouragement, like I'm giving every week here on the podcast, would you do me a favor and share it with them? Share it on your social media, send them an email, send them a text, whatever you need to do, that would mean a lot to me. It would help us again. Just do what God's called me to do of raising up this army of artists to reveal his glory in the earth.
Speaker 1:All right, hey, I love you, my friend. Thanks for being with me and remember till next time you were created to thrive. Bye, hey, my friend. Before you go, make sure that you're signed up for the thriving Christian artists. Weekly, it's my free newsletter, full of spiritual encouragement, creative inspiration and practical tips to help you thrive in everything that God's called you to do as an artist in his kingdom. Every issue is absolutely free and it includes the latest podcast episode, featured artist spotlights, a worship song of the week and, again, tons of tips and encouragement and inspiration for you to keep you inspired and encouraged in everything that God's got for you as an artist in the kingdom. You can click the link right here in the show notes to join us, and it's a great way to stay connected. All right, love you. Bye.