Is it Irreverent to Imagine God in the Studio?

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Unlock the divine potential within your artistry by embracing God's presence in every brushstroke and melody. What if the presence of God isn't confined to traditional sanctuaries, but rather fills your creative spaces with divine inspiration? Journey with me as we explore the profound truth that God desires to be intimately involved in our creative processes, transforming them into acts of worship. Using insights from scriptures like Matthew 1:23 and 1 Corinthians 3:16, I'll reveal how God's guiding hand is ever-present, from the quiet corners of your studio to the vibrant canvases of your imagination. This episode promises to reshape how you perceive your creative calling, empowering you to integrate faith seamlessly with artistry.

As we continue this heartfelt conversation, I express my deep gratitude for your companionship on this artistic journey. Our time together is dedicated to inspiring and motivating you to thrive, fully embracing the creative potential and purpose instilled within you. Stay connected and enriched by subscribing to the Thriving Christian Artist podcast, ensuring you never miss an opportunity to grow your creative spirit. Join me on social media or visit matttommymentoring.com, where our community of artists is committed to nurturing the unique talents God has given us. Remember, you're not just an artist—you're a creator made to thrive in God's kingdom.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Thriving Christian Artist, the
podcast, where we hope youconnect with God to bust through
the roadblocks that have heldyou back for years, create the
work you love and really livethe life you know.
God created you to live as anartist in His kingdom.
I'm Matt Tama, your host.
Let's get started.
Well, hey, my friend, welcomeagain to the podcast.

(00:24):
I'm Matt Tommy, your host,super glad to be here with you.
Listen, we're right in themiddle Well, not really the
middle, but we're kind of justgetting started actually with
the experience course that I'vebeen telling you about for a few
weeks.
Hundreds of artists have joinedus from all over the world and
we are just already seeing Goddo some really, really
incredible things and justsetting artists free and getting

(00:45):
them motivated and encouragedand envisioned with all that
God's got for them.
But I got a comment the otherday in the Facebook group and
kind of took me aback a littlebit, but I was like I really
want to address this on thepodcast, and I did with the
folks in the chorus too, becauseI thought, man, this is so

(01:05):
central to our understanding ofwho we are as artists and the
nature of God and what'spossible and all of that.
And I just thought, man, ifpeople are not getting this
which I think you know,depending on the place in the
body of Christ, the stream ofthe body of Christ that you may
have come from, you may notunderstand this.
And so I want to really, reallyunpack this for you guys today,

(01:29):
and the question not really aquestion, but kind of the
comment was all about, you know,an artist being able to
experience the presence of Godin their studio.
And I was teaching on that inreally in depth in one of the
lessons and they were just kindof reflecting on that and they
thought first, well, wow, howawesome is that, you know?

(01:50):
And then she thought, is that,is that irreverent?
Like?
Is that?
That doesn't seem right thatGod would be in my studio Like
God's in the church, God's in inholy places, god, god's not
going to come in and just hangout with me in the studio?

(02:10):
And so I was like, wow, I I wasjust really taken aback that
that people have that thoughtand I was so encouraged that
they're in the group learningactually what God's word says
about this, so that they can getfree and start walking in the
things that God has for them.
Because, listen, god's presenceis not, you know, only in
heaven.
Obviously, god's presence isnot only with us, but he's in us

(02:34):
and working through us for hisglory and for his purposes in
whatever we do.
And so I wanted to kind of breakthis down in three parts today,
just so that you have a reallyclear biblical understanding
that this idea of expecting tomeet with and encounter the
presence of God in your life, inyour art, in your studio, this

(02:55):
is Christianity 101.
This is kingdom living 101.
This is like how God designedfor us to walk in this.
We were not designed to try tofigure this whole thing out on
our own and live in silos ofseparation where our art life is
over here and my business isover here and my dreams are over

(03:15):
here and then, oh yeah, myreligious life is over here.
That is the fastest way to getinto striving and to get into a
whole bunch of frustration onyour own trying to please God
and get into this worker beementality rather than learning
to walk with God in cooperationwith him.
And so the first thing I want togo to is Matthew 1, 23, which

(03:38):
is famous in the Christmas story, but it says look, the virgin
will conceive a child.
This is the new living andshe'll give birth to a son and
they'll call him Emmanuel, whichmeans what God with us.
God is with us.
See this from the verybeginning, and I think, really,
even if you go back to thegarden of Eden, god's heart from

(04:00):
the very beginning, has notbeen to be separated from us,
god in heaven, us on earth.
The whole point of his creationwas relationship that he would
be walking with us in the coolof the day.
Obviously, through sin andthrough original sin with Adam
and Eve, their choices separatedus from our ability to walk

(04:22):
with God in the cool of the dayand be able to experience him.
But the whole point of Jesuscoming was not just to save you
from sin and death, hell and thegrave that is, yes, a big, big
part to redeem you from that butalso to reconcile you with the
Father and also then to restoreyou to relationship with him and

(04:43):
to the fullness of the kingdom.
That's why Jesus came.
Listen, god with us is the, Ithink, central tenet of
Christianity.
This is huge.
Even in 1 Corinthians, paultalks about this.
1 Corinthians 3.16.
He says hey, don't you realizethat all of you together are the

(05:03):
temple of God and that theSpirit of God lives in you.
So see, as a believer, as anartist, we carry not only
corporately but alsoindividually.
We carry the Spirit of God inus.
He's not out there somewhere.
We're not begging God to comebe involved in our life and in
our art business.
And, oh God, would you justthrow me a crumb from the table?

(05:24):
No, when you got saved and youaccepted Jesus into your heart,
he took up residence inside ofyou, not from a distance, but
intimately involved in everyaspect of your life, and of
course that includes yourcreativity.
So he's with us, he's in us bythe power of the Holy Spirit.

(05:46):
He's also working through us,right?
Philippians 2.13 says for Godis working in you, giving you
the desire and the power to dowhat pleases him.
So, as he's working in you,that power goes through you to
be able to touch the lives ofother people.
You've heard me say for yearsthat our creativity in our art

(06:07):
is an act of worship to the Lord.
It's a thing that God comes inand fills with his presence to
the Lord.
It's a thing that God comes inand fills with his presence.
It becomes a means of gracethat other people can experience
the goodness of God, a way tobless others when we align it
with his purpose and offer whatwe do to the Lord.
And so this idea that you knowGod's over there, I'm over here,

(06:28):
I'm over here doing my artthing, hoping that he'll bless
it.
I need to get it right andfollow all the rules so
hopefully it'll please him inorder to be good enough for him
to use.
Listen, those are religious liesfrom the pit of hell that are
designed, I believe, by theenemy, to keep you separated
from the life-giving nature ofGod that's already living inside

(06:49):
of you.
When you start to realize thatyour prayer life should not be
about oh God, please come andget me out of my mess, but say
Lord, thank you that you're withme in the middle of the good
times and bad, in the placesthat I know what to do, in the
times that I don't know what todo, in the moments where I'm
confused, in the moments whereI'm clear, god, you are no less

(07:11):
present in any of those, and myprayer and your prayer, I would
say, today, should be all aboutLord.
Heighten my awareness, open theeyes and the ears of my heart,
make my spirit more sensitive sothat I can respond to you and
understand the things thatyou're doing in and through my

(07:32):
life, so that I can be used byyou, so I can show up faithful
to the calling that you'vecalled me to.
But again, I'm not having tobeg you to do it.
You want me to get this morethan I want it, because this is
your story.
So, just having thatunderstanding, you may need to
stop today and just say wow, Ijust need to meditate on that

(07:53):
that God is not just with me,beside me, he's not just
shouting from the side like acoach, he is literally in me,
empowering me by his presenceand by his grace.
And so, with that understanding, when you go back and kind of
look at the question or commentthat my friend had in our

(08:14):
foundations course and said,well, is it irreverent, you know
, to imagine God's presencebeing with me in the workshop or
the studio, I would sayabsolutely not right, because
that's the place where we meethim intimately, where the
desires of our heart are beingpoured out, where we're seeing
and sensing with him.
We're moving by spirit ledintuition.

(08:36):
And listen, he put those dreamsand desires and and and you
know visions for, for the artthat you create inside of you.
Obviously it's our role in lifeto to increase our skill and
lean into the presence of God.
But listen, I know that if Godput it in you, he delights to be
a part of that process with you.

(08:56):
Psalm 139, seven through 10 saysI can never escape God From
your spirit.
In other words, there's nowhereI can go that you're not there.
I can never get away from yourpresence.
If I go up to heaven, you'rethere.
If I go down to the grave,you're there.
If I ride on the wings of themorning, if I dwell by the
farthest oceans, even there yourhand will guide me and your
strength will support me.

(09:18):
So, whether you're at a show,whether it's your house, in your
studio, in your sheddio, inyour man cave or she shed,
whatever it is, wherever you'recreating, god is there in the
moment.
And again, it's not about youbegging him to come and be a
part of that, but it's aboutawakening yourself to his
presence.
That's already there, this sortof modern play, a modern temple

(09:44):
, if you will, this modernsacred space where you can
commune with God.
We've got a woman in ourmastery program, robin, who did
a great teaching not too longago in our mastery program, all
about how she sees her studioand also her sales tents as sort
of a tent of meeting, you know,where the Lord is present and

(10:06):
there to engage and there tointeract with not only us but
also the people that areengaging in our work.
And I just love that because,just like Moses encountered God
in that tent of meeting, we getthe opportunity to experience
his presence in our creativeprocess and our sales process
and in anything that we're doingfor the Lord.

(10:28):
You know, I love that verse inColossians 3, 23 and 4 that says
work willingly at whatever youdo as though you were working
for the Lord rather than people.
Remember that the Lord willgive you an inheritance as your
reward and that the master youare serving is Christ.
Listen as you work with theLord and you pursue excellence

(10:51):
and skill.
Listen that not only honors God, it inspires others, it
increases your opportunity forblessing in your life, for
opportunity in your life, and Ithink also just offering that
story to the Lord and offeringyour art process and offering
this place of studio to himreminds you that you are a part

(11:13):
of his story, you're not begginghim to be a part of your story.
And as you develop thatintimacy with the Lord and just
that idea that, hey, I'm not, Idon't just pray in the mornings,
I'm in a constant state ofprayer, I'm in a constant
relationship with the Lord.
I'm in a constant state ofprayer, I'm in a constant
relationship with the Lord, I'min a constant state of leaning
into, discerning what he has forme and walking by faith and

(11:34):
trusting that he's, he's, goingwith me.
Listen, the things that God hasdesigned for us, all right, are
powerful, not only to bless us,but also to bless others through
us.
Remember that verse inEphesians 2.10 that says for
we're God's masterpiece.
Right, His poema.
He created us anew in ChristJesus so we can do the what, the

(11:57):
good works that he planned forus for long ago.
God's been planning on youdoing this for the whole time,
right?
But you never have beendesigned to do this by yourself
or on your own.
You've been designed to do thisin a way that reflects his
glory, reflects his image, isempowered by his nature, is led
by his spirit, is in constantcommunication with him, so that

(12:21):
all of you can be filled withall of him to express his nature
in the world and so that youcan live the abundant life that
Jesus promised.
Listen, I hope that this isresonating with you today and I
hope, whether it's dedicatingyour art space to the Lord or
just inviting him into thatprocess, or just taking a moment
to take a deep breath and say,lord, thank you that you're with

(12:43):
me, I hope that you willrealize that Emmanuel, god with
us, is as much for you as it isfor anybody else.
It's as much for your artprocess and for your studio as
it is walking into church oranything else that you would do
in your life.
I love you, my friend.
I pray you have a great day.
Thanks for being with me here onthe podcast and until next time

(13:03):
.
Remember, you were created tothrive.
Bye, hey.
Thanks so much for spending afew minutes with me today on the
podcast.
Listen, I hope it's been a hugeencouragement to you on your
journey as an artist.
Hey, also, before you leave,make sure to hit the subscribe
button so you don't miss any ofthe other episodes of the
Thriving Christian Artistpodcast, and also be sure to

(13:25):
connect with me on Facebook,instagram or at my website,
which is matttommymentoringcom.
Until next time, remember youwere created to thrive.
Bye-bye, thank you.