Breaking Through Creative Blocks

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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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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Have you ever walked into your studio excited to
create and then a big nothingburger, right, no ideas, no
energy, just this heavy sense offrustration and stuck right?
Listen, I've totally been there, and it's not usually one
reason.
Usually there are severaldifferent reasons going on.
We're going to jump into all ofthem here today on the Thriving
Christian Artist podcast.

(00:20):
Welcome to the ThrivingChristian Artist, the podcast
where we hope you connect withGod to bust through the
roadblocks that have held youback for years, create the work
you love and really live thelife you know.
God created you to live as anartist in His kingdom.
I'm Matt Tommey, your host.
Let's get started.
Well, hey, my friends, so gladthat you are with me on the

(00:44):
podcast today.
Listen, I've been an artist fora long time right Over 30 years
now, not counting childhood andteenage years and just playing
around right and I've beenmentoring artists for a long
time.
And if there's one thing that Ihear over and over again, it's
like Matt, I'm stuck.
Sometimes I just walk in thestudio and I got nothing right.
I know that I'm called tocreate, I want to create, I'm

(01:06):
showing up to create, but I justcan'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 orwhatever.
You know it's an absolute thingthat all of us artists go
through.
But what I've learned is thatcreative blocks usually aren't

(01:27):
random.
They're actually a sign thatsomething deeper is going on,
and sometimes it's spiritual,sometimes it's internal stuff
going on, and sometimes it'sjust practical, and so I want to
dive into both of those todayso that you can get a really
clear picture of how to begin toovercome creative roadblocks in
your life.
Clear picture of how to beginto overcome creative roadblocks

(01:47):
in your life.
Now, one of the things I thinkthat's a really big thing for a
lot of artists that causes thissort of feeling of being blocked
creatively is what we may callinternal clutter.
Right, it's things like fear oranxiety or doubt, or even this
nagging sense of inadequacyright Now.
Listen, usually those are notjust feelings that are existing

(02:07):
in a vacuum, right, they'reactually lies that the enemy
uses to keep us stuck, and youknow, if you've been listening
to me or reading any of my books, or been in any of our programs
or courses, you know thatrenewing your mind is the
process, the process that theLord gives us in his word to
guarantee how transformationwill happen in our life.

(02:29):
And it's so important that ifyou're, if you're realizing that
this feeling of, of creativeblock is probably not about your
art necessarily, but it's aboutall this internal clutter, this
blocking you from that, youknow 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, buta power and of love and a sound

(02:49):
mind, in other words, what Idon't have to let fear and
anxiety and inadequacy and allthat block me.
I have the power of God, I amoperating in the love of God and
I have the mind of Christ in meoperating right now.
Love of God, and I have themind of Christ in me operating
right now and through him I canbegin to walk through these
feelings.
I can operate, even though Imay be feeling something.

(03:12):
I can walk forward in faith,knowing that as I lean into
faith, faith leans into me.
Right, as I lean into God, godis 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 orinadequacy and that sort of
thing is running the show, justrealize that is not from God.

(03:36):
Right?
That is one of the things thatthe enemy tries to get all of us
to believe all the time.
Is that these sort of crazyfeelings that we're having,
these, these things that runinto 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 tooold, you're too this, you do
that, and you just have to stopand ask yourself does that sound

(03:56):
like Jesus?
And 99.999% of the time, thosethings that you're hearing, no,
of course.
That's not Jesus.
That's just the alive, theenemy.
You got to learn to grab that.
You got to learn to take itcaptive, throw it down and begin
to declare the word of the Lordout of your mouth.
That's how you get free andthat's the most listen, most of
the time.

(04:17):
That can begin to break aspiritual blockage in your
creativity and allow you to keep, keep walking in what God's got
for you that day, in the studio.
Now, sometimes, uh, and I, andI'm not, I'm not somebody that
is looking for the devil underevery rock, right?
I believe we have authority inChrist, he's been defeated.
You know the whole thing, right.

(04:38):
But sometimes these feelings ofblockages come from legitimate
spiritual warfare.
I mean plain and simple right.
In John 10, 10, the Bible tellsus that Jesus came, that we
might have life and have itabundantly.
But also, what does the Biblesay?
It says that the enemy comes tosteal and to kill and destroy.

(04:59):
Right Now, listen, if he can'ttake your salvation which he
can't he's going to try to stealyour joy and distract your
purpose and shut down yourcreativity and just frustrate
your plans.
Why?
Because when you create withthe Holy Spirit, you're not just
doing this little thing thatdoesn't have any meaning.
No, you are activelycooperating with the Holy Spirit
to release his life and lightinto places of darkness and into

(05:23):
places of death.
You're bringing beauty in themidst of things that are often
ugly in the world.
You're bringing healing inplaces that people are often
feeling oppressed.
You're bringing hope wherethere's a lot of hopelessness.
Listen, that is dangerous tothe enemy.
You know that your calling asan artist is powerful in the

(05:46):
spirit and so you know and I'vesaid this before, you know, you
got to realize that you rememberthe children of Israel were
walking into the promised land.
When did the giant show up?
When they started getting intothe promised land.
Right, as you start walking intothe things that God's got for
you, of course the enemy isgoing to try to pull out all the
stops, but listen, you haveauthority over him.

(06:08):
Whatever the Bible says,whatever you bind on earth will
be bound in heaven.
Whatever you loose on earthwill be loosed in heaven, and
you, out of your mouth and inthe power of the Holy Spirit,
heaven and you, out of yourmouth and in the power of the
Holy Spirit, according to God'sword, you can declare victory
over that and again continue towalk by faith, not by feelings,

(06:29):
through those attacks and comeout on the other side as someone
, that is, that is activelywalking with the Lord.
All right, now, those are acouple of spiritual things,
internal things, but I think alot of times, you know, we we
blame the devil for somethingthat he never really had a part
in.
Bless his heart, right?
Not not that I'm trying to givemercy to the devil, but I I

(06:52):
think that sometimes we want toblame the enemy for for things
that sometimes we just haven'tdone in our life, and one of
those things that I think weforget sometimes and we get busy
creating or busy doing otherthings.
We often forget to regularlycultivate inspiration.
You can't really expect to drawfrom a well that you've not
filled right.

(07:12):
You can't be expectingsomething to be there inside of
your heart if you've not filledyour heart and your mind and
your imagination with beauty andwith wonder and with all the
things that God gives us to beinspired by.
Listen, we all want those big,powerful moments in the studio
when the Holy Spirit's flowingand the art's coming alive and

(07:32):
things are just, you know,clicking along and it's six
hours goes by and we're like Iwas just in the glory.
I mean, we love that.
But if we're only seekinginspiration 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 thingsthat I like to do as I'm, you
know, continuing to keep myselfinspired is remember that

(07:56):
inspiration is kind of like oneof those old-fashioned water
pumps right, you got to primethat pump again and again before
the water starts flowing and Ijust think again when I can
quote something like Philippians4.13 that says, hey, I'm here
I'm on purpose.
I can do all things throughChrist, who strengthens me even
when I'm feeling stuck, evenwhen I'm feeling empty, even

(08:18):
when I don't have the motivation.
You're leaning in purposefullyto his strength.
And so, if you've not filledyour internal imagination and
your heart and mind withinspiration, it's kind of like
trying to draw from an emptywell.
And so I want to give you somepractical tips today on on

(08:42):
staying inspired.
Uh, for me, about you know,feeling that, that, that place
of imagination and that placewhere your heart becomes that,
that incubator of creativitywith the Holy spirit.
I want to just give you somepractical thoughts around that,
and also just practical thoughtsaround what to do when, when
that feeling of blockage sets in.
All right.
So, number one, deal withwhat's really going on.
Right, take time to ask theLord what's behind the block,

(09:05):
right?
Is it fear?
Is it perfectionism?
Is it comparison, is it?
Hey, I haven't done my part ofthe work and actually staying
inspired.
Just, you know what is it, lord, give me some, give me some
Intel on this Right and um, andthen you know, for me, I love
praying in the spirit, I lovejournaling, I love reading God's
word.
All of those things can helpyou in your spiritual process,

(09:30):
uncover what really needs to behealed and surrendered and let
go of or even picked up in yourlife, all right.
Number two create withoutpressure.
That is, don't keep waiting foryour ideas to be all perfect,
just begin, just get in there.
You know I love abstractpainters.
Sometimes They'll come in andjust doodle or sketch or what

(09:51):
they call activate the canvas.
You know, just throw somethingon it, right, just whatever it
is in your creative process thatjust causes you to get started.
It's not about performance,it's just about movement, it's
just about engagement, it's justabout getting in the beginning
of it.
It's like Zechariah 4.10 saysdon't despise the days, the
small beginning, for the Lordrejoices to see the work begin

(10:14):
Right.
So don't again, don't look forperfection, just look to get
started.
Number three keep a creativeinspiration journal.
This is absolutely one of myfavorite tools.
I have several.
I sketch in my prayer journal,I pray in my sketch journal,
right, who cares it doesn'tmatter, but anywhere that you
can collect scripture quotes,color combinations, ideas,

(10:37):
little impressions or dreams orsketches that you have, anything
that inspires you, right,textures, colors, little things
you find, whatever you haveanything that inspires you,
right?
Textures, colors, little thingsyou find, whatever.
This becomes like this bank ofbeauty and inspiration that you
can go to whenever you'refeeling dry and uninspired.
And it's kind of like thisplace that you know, like when
you go to the pantry and you'refeeling like that four o'clock,

(10:59):
I do that four o'clock, like Ineed a snack or I'm going to eat
my hand off, go into your, yourcreative pantry, right, kind of
like this journal, it's likefeeding your creative spirit,
right.
Go in there and say, hmm, whatam I going to go back to?
What idea, what inspiration amI going to go back to?
That way, you're neveroperating from a place of

(11:20):
emptiness.
All right, number four prime thepump daily when you don't feel
like it show up, right, justmake it a part of your day.
Pray and listen, turn onworship music in your studio,
whatever it takes for you, butlisten, inspiration does not
show up in your life fullyformed, right?
Most of the time it comes as aseed.

(11:42):
Usually that seed's got tomarinate and got to be planted.
Go through that process of whatI call prophetic percolation,
of being crushed and the heat ofthe Holy Spirit and the water
of his word and the infusing ofhis presence.
All of that's got to happen inthe process of inspiration.
So be a part of allowing thatto happen daily.

(12:05):
And then, of course, number fivestay 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 inyou, you can bear much fruit.
But apart from me, you can dowhat Nothing.
Think of that.
I'm the vine and you're thebranches.
If you remain in me and I inyou, you can create much art,

(12:28):
you can live much life, you canrelease much of the kingdom.
Anything you want to do, youcan do it through him.
But what, apart from him, youcan I'm going to say this create
nothing.
You can not be inspired in thestudio.
You can be continually blockedin the studio.
Why?
Because you're trying tooperate outside of connection in

(12:48):
him.
Listen, when we stay rooted andgrounded in the love of God and
resonating and connecting withhis presence.
That's where life flows, that'swhere his presence flows and,
friend, that's where creativityflows and that's where the
blocks get broken.
So listen, if you're feelingstuck today or if you're feeling

(13:08):
like, oh, I'm always goingthrough this creative block
thing, remember you're notbroken, you're not behind,
you're not alone.
You're probably just dealingwith one of these things that we
talked about today and I justwant to invite you, even right
now invite the Lord into themiddle 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 onyour own.
That's the stupidest thing youcan do, right?

(13:29):
That's what the enemy wants toget you to do.
Try to deal with it yourself.
Listen, throw it at the feet ofJesus, throw yourself at the
feet of Jesus and, like Lord,I'm dealing with this again.
Holy Spirit, would you show mewhat is up and show me how to
walk through this, so that I canbe and do and have all that
you've called me to be and doand have in my life?

(13:49):
Holy Spirit, we thank you thatyou're not outside of us, lord,
you are in us.
Holy Spirit, you are in us tolead us and guide us, and
inspire us and bringbreakthrough and bring
conviction and bring challengeand bring leadership and bring
all the things that we need tolive and thrive in this life as
artists and as people.

(14:09):
Holy Spirit, I pray today that,even as people are thinking
right now about past blockagesthey've had in their creativity,
or even ones they're goingthrough right now.
Holy Spirit, bring the light ofyour presence that you would
lead people into understandingand into healing, so that they
can overcome the things that theenemy has planned for their
demise.

(14:30):
You have planned for their good.
You're actually planning thisbreakthrough in order to bring
them into the maturity that youhave for them as your children.
God, we thank you for this.
We thank you for yourever-present help in time of
need and we thank you for yourfaithfulness to show up when we
ask.
In Jesus' name, I pray Amen.

(14:52):
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(15:16):
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So thanks a lot.
I love you, fran.
Until next time.
Remember, you were created tothrive.
Bye, hey, my friend.
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(15:36):
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(15:57):
All right, love you.