The Thriving Christian Artist
The Thriving Christian Artist
Breaking Through Creative Blocks
The frustrating wall of creative emptiness hits every artist at some point - that moment when you walk into your studio excited to create, only to find nothing comes. But what if these creative blocks aren't random? What if they're signaling something deeper happening within you?
Drawing from over three decades of artistic experience and mentoring countless creatives, Matt Tommey unpacks the three primary sources of creative blocks: spiritual issues, internal mental clutter, and practical inspiration deficits. He reveals how feelings of fear, anxiety, doubt and inadequacy often mask spiritual lies that need to be confronted with biblical truth. When we recognize these thoughts as contrary to God's Word, we can take them captive and replace them with truth that sets our creativity free.
Beyond internal struggles, Matt addresses the reality of spiritual warfare in the creative process. When artists collaborate with the Holy Spirit, they become dangerous to the enemy's agenda, releasing light into darkness and beauty into brokenness. This spiritual impact makes creative blocks a battleground where understanding your God-given authority becomes essential. The practical side of creative blockage often comes down to neglecting regular inspiration - you simply can't draw from a well you haven't filled. Matt shares five actionable strategies to overcome blocks, including creating without pressure, keeping an inspiration journal, priming your creative pump daily, and staying connected to Christ as your ultimate source.
The path through creative paralysis isn't found in hiding your struggles or pushing through alone. Instead, Matt encourages artists to throw themselves at Jesus' feet, inviting the Holy Spirit into the very center of their stuck places. Whether you're experiencing momentary frustration or persistent creative drought, this episode offers spiritual wisdom and practical tools to help you break through and create with renewed purpose and divine partnership.
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Have you ever walked into your studio excited to create and then a big nothing burger, right, no ideas, no energy, just this heavy sense of frustration and stuck right? Listen, I've totally been there, and it's not usually one reason. Usually there are several different reasons going on. We're going to jump into all of them here 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, my friends, so glad that you are with me on the podcast today.
Speaker 1:Listen, I've been an artist for a long time right Over 30 years now, not counting childhood and teenage years and just playing around right and I've been mentoring artists for a long time. And if there's one thing that I hear over and over again, it's like Matt, I'm stuck. Sometimes I just walk in the studio and I got nothing right. I know that I'm called to create, I want to create, I'm showing up to create, but I just can't seem to get off of start off of this place of stuck. Listen, I get there. I've been there too. That is not unique to you. You're not broken or bad or whatever. You know it's an absolute thing that all of us artists go through. But what I've learned is that creative blocks usually aren't random. They're actually a sign that something deeper is going on, and sometimes it's spiritual, sometimes it's internal stuff going on, and sometimes it's just practical, and so I want to dive into both of those today so that you can get a really clear picture of how to begin to overcome creative roadblocks in your life. Clear picture of how to begin to overcome creative roadblocks in your life.
Speaker 1:Now, one of the things I think that's a really big thing for a lot of artists that causes this sort of feeling of being blocked creatively is what we may call internal clutter. Right, it's things like fear or anxiety or doubt, or even this nagging sense of inadequacy right Now. Listen, usually those are not just feelings that are existing in a vacuum, right, they're actually lies that the enemy uses to keep us stuck, and you know, if you've been listening to me or reading any of my books, or been in any of our programs or courses, you know that renewing your mind is the process, the process that the Lord gives us in his word to guarantee how transformation will happen in our life. And it's so important that if you're, if you're realizing that this feeling of, of creative block is probably not about your art necessarily, but it's about all this internal clutter, this blocking you from that, you know you got to go to a verse like second Timothy, one, seven, right, it says what God has not given me a spirit of fear, but a power and of love and a sound mind, in other words, what I don't have to let fear and anxiety and inadequacy and all that block me. I have the power of God, I am operating in the love of God and I have the mind of Christ in me operating right now. Love of God, and I have the mind of Christ in me operating right now and through him I can begin to walk through these feelings. I can operate, even though I may be feeling something. I can walk forward in faith, knowing that as I lean into faith, faith leans into me. Right, as I lean into God, god is leaning into me and I believe, as you lean into inspiration, inspiration is going to lean into you as well. All right. So if fear or confusion or inadequacy and that sort of thing is running the show, just realize that is not from God. Right?
Speaker 1:That is one of the things that the enemy tries to get all of us to believe all the time. Is that these sort of crazy feelings that we're having, these, these things that run into our mind, these thoughts that are like you're no good, you're inadequate, why are you even doing this? You started late, you're too old, you're too this, you do that, and you just have to stop and ask yourself does that sound like Jesus? And 99.999% of the time, those things that you're hearing, no, of course. That's not Jesus. That's just the alive, the enemy. You got to learn to grab that. You got to learn to take it captive, throw it down and begin to declare the word of the Lord out of your mouth. That's how you get free and that's the most listen, most of the time. That can begin to break a spiritual blockage in your creativity and allow you to keep, keep walking in what God's got for you that day, in the studio.
Speaker 1:Now, sometimes, uh, and I, and I'm not, I'm not somebody that is looking for the devil under every rock, right? I believe we have authority in Christ, he's been defeated. You know the whole thing, right. But sometimes these feelings of blockages come from legitimate spiritual warfare. I mean plain and simple right. In John 10, 10, the Bible tells us that Jesus came, that we might have life and have it abundantly. But also, what does the Bible say? It says that the enemy comes to steal and to kill and destroy.
Speaker 1:Right Now, listen, if he can't take your salvation which he can't he's going to try to steal your joy and distract your purpose and shut down your creativity and just frustrate your plans. Why? Because when you create with the Holy Spirit, you're not just doing this little thing that doesn't have any meaning. No, you are actively cooperating with the Holy Spirit to release his life and light into places of darkness and into places of death. You're bringing beauty in the midst of things that are often ugly in the world. You're bringing healing in places that people are often feeling oppressed. You're bringing hope where there's a lot of hopelessness. Listen, that is dangerous to the enemy. You know that your calling as an artist is powerful in the spirit and so you know and I've said this before, you know, you got to realize that you remember the children of Israel were walking into the promised land. When did the giant show up? When they started getting into the promised land.
Speaker 1:Right, as you start walking into the things that God's got for you, of course the enemy is going to try to pull out all the stops, but listen, you have authority over him. Whatever the Bible says, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, and you, out of your mouth and in the power of the Holy Spirit, heaven and you, out of your mouth and in the power of the Holy Spirit, according to God's word, you can declare victory over that and again continue to walk by faith, not by feelings, through those attacks and come out on the other side as someone, that is, that is actively walking with the Lord. All right, now, those are a couple of spiritual things, internal things, but I think a lot of times, you know, we we blame the devil for something that he never really had a part in. Bless his heart, right?
Speaker 1:Not not that I'm trying to give mercy to the devil, but I I think that sometimes we want to blame the enemy for for things that sometimes we just haven't done in our life, and one of those things that I think we forget sometimes and we get busy creating or busy doing other things. We often forget to regularly cultivate inspiration. You can't really expect to draw from a well that you've not filled right. You can't be expecting something to be there inside of your heart if you've not filled your heart and your mind and your imagination with beauty and with wonder and with all the things that God gives us to be inspired by. Listen, we all want those big, powerful moments in the studio when the Holy Spirit's flowing and the art's coming alive and things are just, you know, clicking along and it's six hours goes by and we're like I was just in the glory. I mean, we love that.
Speaker 1:But if we're only seeking inspiration after we sit down to create, most of the time, you're going to be setting yourself up for frustration, right? That's why one of the things that I like to do as I'm, you know, continuing to keep myself inspired is remember that inspiration is kind of like one of those old-fashioned water pumps right, you got to prime that pump again and again before the water starts flowing and I just think again when I can quote something like Philippians 4.13 that says, hey, I'm here I'm on purpose. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me even when I'm feeling stuck, even when I'm feeling empty, even when I don't have the motivation. You're leaning in purposefully to his strength. And so, if you've not filled your internal imagination and your heart and mind with inspiration, it's kind of like trying to draw from an empty well. And so I want to give you some practical tips today on on staying inspired.
Speaker 1:Uh, for me, about you know, feeling that, that, that place of imagination and that place where your heart becomes that, that incubator of creativity with the Holy spirit. I want to just give you some practical thoughts around that, and also just practical thoughts around what to do when, when that feeling of blockage sets in. All right. So, number one, deal with what's really going on. Right, take time to ask the Lord what's behind the block, right? Is it fear? Is it perfectionism? Is it comparison, is it? Hey, I haven't done my part of the work and actually staying inspired. Just, you know what is it, lord, give me some, give me some Intel on this Right and um, and then you know, for me, I love praying in the spirit, I love journaling, I love reading God's word. All of those things can help you in your spiritual process, uncover what really needs to be healed and surrendered and let go of or even picked up in your life, all right.
Speaker 1:Number two create without pressure. That is, don't keep waiting for your ideas to be all perfect, just begin, just get in there. You know I love abstract painters. Sometimes They'll come in and just doodle or sketch or what they call activate the canvas. You know, just throw something on it, right, just whatever it is in your creative process that just causes you to get started. It's not about performance, it's just about movement, it's just about engagement, it's just about getting in the beginning of it. It's like Zechariah 4.10 says don't despise the days, the small beginning, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin Right. So don't again, don't look for perfection, just look to get started.
Speaker 1:Number three keep a creative inspiration journal. This is absolutely one of my favorite tools. I have several. I sketch in my prayer journal, I pray in my sketch journal, right, who cares it doesn't matter, but anywhere that you can collect scripture quotes, color combinations, ideas, little impressions or dreams or sketches that you have, anything that inspires you, right, textures, colors, little things you find, whatever you have anything that inspires you, right? Textures, colors, little things you find, whatever. This becomes like this bank of beauty and inspiration that you can go to whenever you're feeling dry and uninspired. And it's kind of like this place that you know, like when you go to the pantry and you're feeling like that four o'clock, I do that four o'clock, like I need a snack or I'm going to eat my hand off, go into your, your creative pantry, right, kind of like this journal, it's like feeding your creative spirit, right. Go in there and say, hmm, what am I going to go back to? What idea, what inspiration am I going to go back to? That way, you're never operating from a place of emptiness.
Speaker 1:All right, number four prime the pump daily when you don't feel like it show up, right, just make it a part of your day. Pray and listen, turn on worship music in your studio, whatever it takes for you, but listen, inspiration does not show up in your life fully formed, right? Most of the time it comes as a seed. Usually that seed's got to marinate and got to be planted. Go through that process of what I call prophetic percolation, of being crushed and the heat of the Holy Spirit and the water of his word and the infusing of his presence. All of that's got to happen in the process of inspiration. So be a part of allowing that to happen daily.
Speaker 1:And then, of course, number five stay connected to your source, john. What is it? John? 15, five, right, I'm the vine, you're the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you can bear much fruit. But apart from me, you can do what Nothing. Think of that. I'm the vine and you're the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you can create much art, you can live much life, you can release much of the kingdom. Anything you want to do, you can do it through him. But what, apart from him, you can I'm going to say this create nothing. You can not be inspired in the studio. You can be continually blocked in the studio. Why? Because you're trying to operate outside of connection in him.
Speaker 1:Listen, when we stay rooted and grounded in the love of God and resonating and connecting with his presence. That's where life flows, that's where his presence flows and, friend, that's where creativity flows and that's where the blocks get broken. So listen, if you're feeling stuck today or if you're feeling like, oh, I'm always going through this creative block thing, remember you're not broken, you're not behind, you're not alone. You're probably just dealing with one of these things that we talked about today and I just want to invite you, even right now invite the Lord into the middle of the block. Don't try to hide it from him. Don't try to push through it. Don't try to deal with it on your own. That's the stupidest thing you can do, right? That's what the enemy wants to get you to do. Try to deal with it yourself. Listen, throw it at the feet of Jesus, throw yourself at the feet of Jesus and, like Lord, I'm dealing with this again.
Speaker 1:Holy Spirit, would you show me what is up and show me how to walk through this, so that I can be and do and have all that you've called me to be and do and have in my life? Holy Spirit, we thank you that you're not outside of us, lord, you are in us. Holy Spirit, you are in us to lead us and guide us, and inspire us and bring breakthrough and bring conviction and bring challenge and bring leadership and bring all the things that we need to live and thrive in this life as artists and as people. Holy Spirit, I pray today that, even as people are thinking right now about past blockages they've had in their creativity, or even ones they're going through right now. Holy Spirit, bring the light of your presence that you would lead people into understanding and into healing, so that they can overcome the things that the enemy has planned for their demise. You have planned for their good. You're actually planning this breakthrough in order to bring them into the maturity that you have for them as your children. God, we thank you for this. We thank you for your ever-present help in time of need and we thank you for your faithfulness to show up when we ask. In Jesus' name, I pray Amen.
Speaker 1:Hey friend, thanks for being with me on the podcast. Listen, remember, subscribe if you're not subscribed, so you don't ever miss an episode. Also, share this on social media. Email it to a friend, text it to them right now and say hey, this really encouraged me today. I think it would encourage you as well. We're on our way, you and me, to 2 million downloads this year on the thriving Christian artists, and it can only happen with your help. So thanks a lot.
Speaker 1:I love you, fran. Until next time. Remember, you were created to thrive. Bye, hey, my friend. Before you go, make sure that you're signed up for the Thriving Christian Artist 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.