Why Your Creative Calling is Calling You Back to God

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That nagging sense that something is missing isn’t always a problem to solve. Sometimes it’s a signal. When your creativity starts tugging at you again after months or years of silence, it can feel inconvenient, impractical, or even embarrassing. We’ve felt that split too: the responsible life that keeps everything running, and the creative life that gets whatever crumbs of time are left. 

We dig into a faith-centered view of creativity and calling and why that “pull to create” may be God drawing you back to connection with Him. We talk about the frustration that comes from suppressing what was designed to bring you life, how joy and creative flow can act like signposts, and why the real breakthrough often isn’t trying harder. It’s healing. As we let God deal with disappointment, fear, control, and performance mindset, creativity stops feeling tangled and starts flowing again. 

If shame tells you that you missed your chance, we push back hard: your gifts and calling are irrevocable. Your creative gift didn’t expire. You may have lost connection, but connection can be restored, and God’s posture toward you looks more like the father running to the prodigal than a judge keeping score. We also get practical with simple next steps: noticing the patterns of desire, saying yes in small ways, and releasing the pressure to monetize too fast so you can protect the joy of the creative process and trust God’s provision and timing. 

If this helps, subscribe for more, share it with a friend who feels stuck, and leave a review so more artists can find it. What’s one small creative “yes” you can take this week?

Transcript

When Life Feels Quietly Off

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Have you ever had that feeling like something is just missing in your life that you can't quite explain why? Like everything looks fine on the outside, but inside there's this quiet dissatisfaction, this sense that maybe somehow you miss something in your life along the way. And then out of nowhere, you start feeling this pull to start creating again. Well, today I want to show you how God actually might be using your creative desires to call you back to Him, how to recognize those signs so you can stop ignoring them and start stepping into the life that you know deep down you're created for. And hey, stick with me to the very end because I'm going to show you the one shift that changed everything for me that took me from feeling stuck and disconnected and kind of split between two lives to actually walking in peace and clarity and real momentum with God in my creativity. Well, hey, my friend, I'm Matt Tommy. And as a professional artist for over 30 years and mentor to thousands of artists, I have absolutely seen firsthand in my own life and the lives of so many of my students how how devastating it can be for creative people to inadvertently live a life disconnected from the creativity God put inside of them. And I get it, it's not intentional. I mean, sometimes life just, you know, has this way of pulling you off course, right? Not in not in some dramatic way, but most of the time, kind of kind of slowly. Responsibilities creep in, expectations. You start doing what you know makes sense, doing what's needed in the moment. But but over time you end up building a life that may work, but unfortunately, it just doesn't feel fully alive. And right there in the middle of that, often our creativity starts showing up again. And honestly, it can sometimes feel like a nuisance, like it's out of left field. Like, why in the world is this coming back now? Like I've got way too much going on. This is not practical. I don't have time to focus on my creativity. But listen, here's what you got to understand that creative desire, that that pull that you're feeling, that is not random. And it's not a distraction either. And it's sure not you being being flaky or whatever. It's something that God put inside of you. And because it's from Him, here's what I've learned. You can suppress it, you can ignore it, you can try to keep it in a box, but trust me, it will never go away. And in fact, it will absolutely keep pushing through, almost like a weed that this kind of pushing up through a crack in the concrete. Have you ever seen that? I see that all the time living in Texas, these weeds just coming up. It's like one of those things that looks impossible. And that's exactly how our creative gifts are inside of us, right? They're persistent, relentless, alive, full of life, and always looking to break through so it can flourish and really thrive. And honestly, that's why I think so many creative people feel so frustrated all the time because they've been trying to silence something that God designed to speak in their life and through their life, but it doesn't fit. And because it doesn't fit in the structure of your life right now, you kind of feel this frustration. Now, listen, this doesn't mean that you've been trying to intentionally do something wrong, like you've been walking in sin or something. It actually is something that I see with almost every artist at some point. You're trying to be responsible, you're trying to do what works in your life. You're you're following maybe the advice, the well-meaning advice that people have given you. But somewhere in that process, we just kind of start to slowly drift from the very thing that God designed us to have and to give us life. Now, for a lot of artists, this re-emergence of their creativity shows up in some really specific ways. And maybe you can relate to some of these. Maybe you find yourself like daydreaming about creating again or feeling drawn to art, even if you haven't touched it in years, or maybe people around you saying, Hey, you should you should get back to doing your art or whatever it is that you do creatively. And when you do create, you start realizing, oh my gosh, I love this. Like there's this deep sense of connection and fulfillment that you don't get anywhere else. Listen, I've just learned those moments aren't random. They're actually signals. I it's kind of like the Holy Spirit is standing on the side of the road of your life, waving a flight, like, hey, pay attention over here. There were so many times looking back on my life that I was doing what I love to do creatively, maybe walking in the woods or being on my back porch, making a basket or, you know, harvesting materials or you know, just doing the things that I that I love to do. And in those moments, I would feel, you know, just a great sense of pleasure and fulfillment. And uh, you know, time would just pass and you just, you know, like you're in the zone, like you're in, you know, what a lot of people call just you know, creative flow. But I never really associated that with the pleasure of God, with the calling of God, with with God's design. I just kind of thought, oh, I'm I'm just having a great day. Listen, recognizing that that's from the Lord uh and recognizing that that is one of those signals, like, hey, I've tried to speak to you, that is huge for all of us as artists to realize that that's how God speaks to us. That's how He leads us along our journey is through this inner sense of peace and joy and fulfillment and this idea that when you do what I created you to do, uh, not only are you gonna be filled, but I'm gonna be glorified in the process. That that's how God designed this whole thing to work. Listen, if you've been noticing this in your life, but you're not quite sure what to do with it, I actually put together something here that's really gonna help you get clarity on how to move forward with God as an artist, especially in these kind of seasons that don't make sense. It's a free PDF that I call Five Signs That You're on the Right Track as an artist. And I'll drop a link here in the comments so you can get uh, you know, get that in your in your email and start letting that be a real blessing in your life. Now, let me share something personal that that might be exactly where you are right now. Because for for years it felt like I'd lived in sort of you know two completely separate worlds. One over here was really practical, where I was making a living, taking care of my family, doing what made sense, handling all the responsibilities, putting everything else first. And the other side then was creative, right? Something that I only allowed myself to access after everything else was done, if I had time, if I had permission, if it didn't get in the way of anything else. And honestly, I just I just kind of thought that's how life was supposed to work. But here's what I didn't realize. I didn't realize that I was actually suppressing the very thing that God designed to bring me life, my my creative expression. And over time, no matter who you are or how old you are, that creates this tension, this sort of frustration inside it. It creates that feeling like something is not right, something's off, even if everything looks fine on the outside. Now, I'll be candid with you. There were there were some seasons in my life where I felt almost dead on the inside, right? I was I was doing everything that made sense, everything everybody said I was supposed to be doing, but I was feeling further and further away from who I knew that I really was on the inside. In fact, as I was getting ready for this today, I was reminded of um something that one of my mentors said to me years ago, um, a guy named Ray Hughes, he said, Matt, um, impression without expression leads to depression. And man, that just resonated in my heart. And it probably does yours as well, because if you've got all of this creative impression from the Holy Spirit, right? All of these dreams and desires and things that you want to do, but you don't have the ability or you're not giving yourself the permission to create space in your life to express those, what happens is exactly what the Bible says. Hope deferred makes the heart sick. In other words, impression without expression leads to depression. And listen, let me just tell you, a hundred percent guaranteed, that is not God's recipe for you thriving and living the life that he designed you to live as an artist. But here's what changed everything for me. And it's what's changed as I look back, you know, the lives of so many of my students when that when they really get this. It it wasn't that I suddenly, you know, started trying harder with my art, trying to make it happen. It was that I started cooperating with God in my own healing journey and letting him deal with things inside, like disappointment and fear and performance mindset and you know, the need to control outcomes and pain from past experiences and all the you know, barrage of expectations from other people. And listen, as he healed my heart, something really unexpected started happening. My my creativity came back and it re-emerged this time uh without all the fear tangling it up, right? With without all the pressure. It wasn't something that I had to force. It it started flowing. And it started flowing because the blockages that were blocking me on the inside were gone. And instead of approaching my creativity with doubt and second guessing and fear, instead of trying to live up to everybody else's expectations, I started approaching it with real trust. Instead of trying to control everything, I started simply following him without all the expectations of how it was supposed to happen. And listen, as I started taking those small steps of faith, God began opening doors I could have never, you know, opened on my own. And that really is the difference. Not striving, not making it happen, but partnering with God in my creative calling. Now, let me say this, and this is super important because often your first response, you know, to your creativity coming back is not excitement. Sometimes it can be shame. I've seen this in so many artists. You they start thinking, well, you know, I had this before, or I ignored this, or this is my fault. I've wasted time, I've I've missed my chance. Listen, listen, you did not miss it. In fact, the Bible says, I love this, it says that that our gifts and callings from God are irrevocable. They're without repentance. In other words, that means God has not changed his mind about you or the creative gift that he gave you. In fact, your calling doesn't have an expiration date. It it didn't disappear, it didn't get reassigned. It's absolutely still there. It might be dormant, but trust me, it is not gone. It's kind of like that that seedling that's been trying to push up through the concrete of your heart so it can sprout and thrive. Listen, this is so important for you to hear. And I just just hear this. You did not lose your calling, you did not lose your gift, you did not lose who God created you to be. You may have just lost your connection. But here's the beautiful thing connection can a hundred percent absolutely be restored. Not not someday way off, but but today. You know, I get it. It's it's normal to feel like, you know, maybe the prodigal son in this moment, like you've been in a season really far from who you are. But I want you to see something really clearly in that story. You know, the father wasn't waiting with disappointment, like he better get back up here and I'm gonna punish him. No, he wasn't having to be convinced to love his son again. He was waiting with anticipation. And the moment that the son turned and started walking back toward the father, the father ran toward him, the Bible says, with open arms and with everything needed to restore him fully to his rightful place in the family. And I just believe that's God how God responds to us, not with hesitation and judgment, but with love and joy, ready to restore and to lead us and to walk with us into everything that he created us for. And the best part, again, it doesn't start with you having to have it all figured out with a 10-year plan. It doesn't even start with confidence on your part. Most of the time, it just starts with a little bit of curiosity and a willingness in your heart just to say yes. So listen, if you're finding yourself in this kind of season right now, I want to give you a few practical ways that you can respond. And the first thing is pay attention to those creative desires again. Not casually, but intentionally. So when when ideas start coming to you, write them down, you know, journal them, put them in a sketchbook. When you feel the urge to create, you know, don't just push it off. Start start noticing the patterns because God often speaks through those those repetitions, those things that He's He's speaking over and over in your mind. Secondly, I just say, you know, start saying yes in small ways. And that does not mean I'm quitting my job tomorrow and I'm gonna be a full-time artist. No, I mean, maybe it means that you start setting aside 30, 30 minutes a day. Maybe you start, you know, creating something that you've been putting off or explore something you've been wanting to do. Anything you can do to start creating intentional space in your life is is huge. And third, I would say as you're doing that, you got to release all the expectations, all that pressure. You know, how to make this profitable tomorrow, how to how to make start making money with this. Listen, you don't have to prove anything to anyone. Right now, you're learning to reconnect with yourself and with God and with the gift he's put within you. And when you let that really be enough, everything changes. In fact, if you had to pin me down and just say, Matt, what's the one thing that, you know, really has held artists back or prevents them over the years, you know, in a mentoring relationship, I would say a hundred percent it's them wanting to monetize things and grow things too quickly. And I get it. Sometimes there's financial pressure, sometimes there's all that pressure that you feel, I gotta make it happen and all this kind of stuff. I've just left my job or I want to leave my job and I gotta get into this, you know, creativity. But listen, when you put all that pressure on things and you put all this pressure to monetize, it really robs you of the beauty of the joy of the creative process. And what happens, and again, inadvertently, so many times, inadvertently you start looking for shortcuts and you start looking for the latest hack and you start bouncing from idea to idea to idea, thinking, ooh, they got it, they're making it work, they did this and it worked. I should do that too. And you just forget the fundamentals of, you know what? God created me as an artist, He's got me on a journey. I need to trust this path, I need to walk with him. He's gonna, as I'm faithful with little, he's gonna make me ruler over much. God is the one who provides for me, not myself. All we forget all that stuff, right? All the stuff that that we know, we say that we believe. And yet when the pressure comes in, the pressure to monetize, it just kind of flies out the window. And so learning to let go of these expectations in your life is a huge, huge freedom bringer to your life so that you can really create and live and walk as the artist that God created you to be without all these things pulling at your heart and mind all the time. And listen, when you do that, I find that it frees God up to bring opportunities for provision and growth in your business and open doors and all that kind of stuff in ways that we never ever thought possible because we no longer have the blinders on of it's gotta happen this way. We're we're now trusting God. We're saying, God, I'm I'm being faithful in my creative process. I'm walking in a relationship with you, and I'm trusting that the dream that you put in my heart, the vision that I have is gonna come to pass in the way that I see or in a in a better way. But Lord, I'm trusting that you're the one that's gonna bring it, not me pressuring myself with all these expectations and preconceived ideas. Next, I would say, you know, you've really got to start learning to trust God's heart for you and trust the gift that he's put inside of you, that he really does have good plans for your life to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope in a future, that the thing that he's put inside of you, your creativity, is not to to torture you to be like a carrot hanging out there, but it's actually the thing, the vehicle that he's given you, not only to receive life from him, but also to give life to others. Listen, I've been through disappointments and and and past hurts and things in your life that that caused you to want to doubt the goodness of God. I completely understand that. And that is why it's so important for us to know who it is that God created us to be, what it is that he called us to do. We've got to know our our identity in Christ. Why? Because the enemy is 100% gonna use past disappointment and failures in our life and what seems like delays. He's gonna use those a hundred percent of the time to accuse you of not being enough and to say, you know what, it's not your fault, it's God's fault. God was the one that brought this on you. God was trying to test you. God, you didn't measure up all this kind of stuff. It's the same thing he tried to do with Adam and Eve, right at the very beginning. Is this really who God, God says he is? Is God really as good as he he said? What's God trying to hide from you? It's always doubting the identity and the goodness of God. And listen, if you've not, if you've not done the foundations course, uh, please do that. Thousands of artists have gone through my foundations course. It's a huge, huge, huge part. It's a pathway of uh walking you through this process of healing and wholeness and learning how to walk in the identity that God's called you to have as an artist and reorienting your mind to what the word of God says rather than just what your experience and your history has told you about who God is. Listen, when you do that, that sets the foundation, Allah, the name. That sets the foundation for everything else that God is trying to do in and through your life. But again, it's a big part of that is knowing that God's heart for you is as a loving, loving father and that he's got good plans for you. Now, lastly, and this is kind of what I mentioned earlier that that really changed everything for me. You've got to learn how to trust the pace of your journey. Listen, I've seen it a million times. Uh, this is where so many well-intentioned people, me included, get tripped up. They they start on this journey, and when it doesn't feel fast enough, they end up quitting or second-guessing or pulling back, or on the other side, they start striving in their own strength, trying to make something happen rather than trusting that God is at work in every part of their journey, the seen and the unseen. You know, I love that scripture that says in James 4 about, you know, let patience have its perfect work in you, that you may be perfect and complete and lacking nothing. And then in Galatians 6, 9, it says, you know, that we shouldn't grow weary and doing well for in due season. If we don't, we'll reap a harvest. Listen, that's not a maybe. Those are God's promises. And if you stay with God in the promise, listen, 100% of the time, God will bring a harvest in your life. It isn't about trying harder. It isn't about trying to figure it all out. It's about learning to trust the Father, trust the gift that He's put inside of me, and trust the pace of the journey that He has us on. Now, friend, here's the truth. A lot of people feel, you know, this draw to their creativity right now in their life, but they never follow through. They hesitate, they keep overthinking, they're waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect studio, the perfect amount of money. And because of that, they never experience what's on the other side of obedience. But listen, that didn't have to be your story. Because if you'll just start saying yes, even right now, if you'll start taking just one little step, if you'll you'll start saying yes to that thing that God's put inside of you, you will meet God in ways that you never expected and your life will begin to change. Joy will return. So, hey, if you're serious about taking that next step with God, be sure to download five signs you're on the right track as an artist right below this video. 100% is going to help you navigate this process really easily and start giving you the confidence to move forward in everything that God's called you to. Hey, thanks for joining me today. Listen, as always, be sure to leave me a comment. Let me know, you know, if this is resonating with you and even if your creativity has been calling you back to God in this season. Of course, make sure you subscribe, do all the things, put on your notifications, and uh so you never miss any of the great content that I'm creating here every week. And uh remember, till next time, I love you and you were created to thrive. Bye.