February 25, 2025 • 11 mins
Facing life's challenges with humility can transform not just our circumstances, but also the very fabric of our hearts. Join me as I recount how difficult seasons in my life uncovered deep-rooted fears and hangups, leading to profound growth and maturity. By embracing humility over pride or self-pity, and drawing on biblical wisdom from James 4, we align with God's grace and unlock a path toward personal healing. We’ll discuss the pitfalls of victimhood and explore how faith, trust, and a mindset of gratitude can guide us through trials. Through scriptures like Psalm 37 and Romans 8:28, discover the assurance of God's ever-present guidance and the strength to overcome obstacles.
Artists, this one’s for you. Finding your footing in the creative world requires more than just talent; it requires community and connection. With encouragement as our foundation, we delve into the importance of building supportive networks and nurturing your creative spirit. As you embark on your artistic journey, remember you are chosen and supported by God to thrive. Let’s connect through social platforms and my website so we can continue to inspire and uplift each other. Share this message with fellow creatives who might need a boost, and together, let's walk this path of faith and creativity.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
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, it's Matt, so glad that you're with me on
(00:24):
the podcast today.
You know I am an artist justlike you, living my life every
day, working and selling my artand mentoring artists and all
that sort of thing, and I knowthat in my life and in so many
of the lives of artists that Ihave the privilege of walking
with every day, I know that weall go through situations in our
(00:46):
life, even seasons in our life,that are uncomfortable and
trying, and sometimes justdownright difficult, Like we
don't like it, we don't knowwhat to do with it, and I've
learned, though, that how werespond in these seasons often
reveals the true condition ofwhat's really going on in our
heart, in other words, ourdeepest fears, our deepest
(01:11):
biggest hangups, and often tothe things that we kind of
instinctively turn to forcomfort in times when we're
uncomfortable and when we're inseasons that we don't like
what's going on.
But here's what I found If wewill allow the Lord to use these
moments of revelation when he'slike, hey, I'm putting my
finger on this thing, on yourheart, I'm using this season of
difficulty If we'll let him usethose moments of revelation to
(01:32):
expose in a good way areas ofour lives where he wants to
bring us into deeper places ofhealing and wholeness and
maturity, that is a wonderful,wonderful thing.
That's how growth happens inthe kingdom.
But here's what I know.
I know it from my life and Iknow it from the artists that I
work with.
Our flesh doesn't like that,right.
(01:54):
Our flesh naturally gravitatestoward the extremes of either
what I would call pride or pityright.
We either end up defendingourselves to sort of try to
prove our worth based on our ownmerits and all the things we've
done and all this sort of thing, or, on the other hand, we just
kind of collapse into anemotional puddle of of self-pity
, and sometimes we even do both.
(02:15):
I've been in both campssimultaneously sometimes.
And, uh, I think we all know wecan relate probably to that and
and realize that neither one ofthose responses is a healthy
response, right, and neither oneof those responses actually
leads to maturity andtransformation, which is what
we're all in the process of aswe're walking with the Lord here
(02:37):
on this earth.
But here's the thing, and I wantyou to really get this today
the older I get and the longer Iwalk with the Lord, the more I
realize that my responsedetermines my results.
I'm going to say that again myresponse in these situations
determines the results that Isee in my life.
(02:57):
See, if I end up responding inpride and entitlement, then I
got to end up defending thatright and I got to provide for
my own self and sustain my ownself in my own strength.
That was the curse of Adam andEve and Cain and all of that
right Any person in God's wordwho ended up separating
themselves from the Lord becausethey thought they could do it.
But what does James 4 say?
(03:18):
James 4 says God resists theproud but gives grace to the
humble.
So I don't want to be walkingproud.
I don't want to be respondingin pride and entitlement.
I want to walk in humility,right.
And what about if I respond invictimhood right, just in this
puddle of self-pity?
Well, when I do that, I alsoforfeit the good plans that
(03:39):
God's got for me and you kind ofresign yourself to this life of
defeat.
Things will always be like this.
I'll never get over this.
I'll never have another success.
This was the big one, this wasthe one that pushed it over the
edge and you just want to giveup.
But I want to remind you, youknow, just like Job said, the
thing that I feared has comeupon me right.
Just like it says in Proverbs27, three or 23, seven.
(04:02):
It says for as he thinks in hisheart, so is he right.
In other words, the thoughtsthat we dwell on create the
world that we dwell in.
If you are constantly focusingon and thinking about and
declaring out of your mouthvictimhood and and weakness and
and fear and all this stuff,guess what ends up showing up in
(04:23):
your life?
That right, and we don't wantthat to take the place of the
good plans that God has for us.
We don't want to resign ourlife to defeat.
We want to stand up and be ableto walk in faith toward the
things God has for us.
But you know, I've learned thatwalking in faith doesn't always
mean that you're like going outguns blazing, totally confident
(04:44):
, like we're all, we're going toget it.
I really believe it's more abouthumble maturity, right, and
humble maturity responds tothese kinds of situations
differently.
I believe humble maturitypauses, it breathes deeply.
It's like, okay, lord, I'mgoing through this.
I mean, I like it, but I'mgoing through it, jesus, right,
(05:05):
and I'm choosing to trust youintentionally and during that
sort of process, this kind ofresponse.
I think that the things thatI'm trying to do are remind
myself of some several things,right?
Number one I want to remindmyself that, hey, I'm here right
now in this situation, not byaccident, but by divine design,
(05:27):
right?
God's word says in Psalm 37, thesteps of the righteous are
ordered by the Lord and hedelights in his way.
God knows right where I am,he's got his finger on the pulse
of what is going on.
Number two God's with me, he'swithin me and he's promised that
he'll never leave me or forsakeme.
Right, he said that in Hebrews13.
(05:47):
So that's so important torealize that, where you are now,
you're not alone.
You're not there by mistake.
You're not there, you know,because you know you're, you're
weak or you didn't do somethingright or whatever it is.
You're there because God isallowing you and allowing me to
walk through both the good timesand the bad in life.
It rains on the just and on theunjust.
(06:09):
Right Jesus said in this worldyou're going to have trouble.
This is a normal part of livinglife.
God knows right where you are.
He's using all those thingsright Romans 8, 28.
He's working all those thingstogether for good.
Why?
Because he loves us and he'scalled us according to his
purpose.
He's got good plans for us,right, jeremiah 29, 11.
(06:30):
I know the plans that I havefor you, says the Lord to
prosper you, not to harm me, togive you a hope in a future.
And you got to remember too inthat that you can walk through
anything that comes your way.
Why?
Not because of your resume, notbecause of the results you've
had in your life, not becauseyou're so desperate that only
(06:51):
God can save you.
No, you're walking throughanything that comes in your way
in your life because you arehere, because of his permission,
because of his power, becauseof his purpose in your life.
Remember, philippians 4.13 saysI can do all things through
Christ, who strengthens me.
(07:12):
Listen, I don't know about you,but that stuff didn't come just
naturally out of me.
I've got to stir myself up inthe Lord, I got to remind myself
.
Now, listen, the more you walkwith the Lord, the more you put
his word in your heart.
The promise is true, right.
His word does not return void.
His word goes in and, with theHoly Spirit, is transforming you
(07:33):
and I from the inside out.
But I'm just telling you, theseare intentional things that you
got to turn your heart toward,to, and when you're going
through these situations of lifethat are difficult, even these
seasons of life that you don'tlike, it's so easy just to melt
into a puddle or to give up orjust to yield to whatever's
(07:54):
happening.
But I'm telling you, like David, you got to pull yourself up by
the scruff of your neck and saywhy so downcast?
Oh my soul, put your hope inGod.
I'm not here on accident.
I'm here by divine appointment.
God's with me.
He's not going to leave me orforsake me.
I could walk through anythingthat comes my way because he is
on my side and no matter whathappens good, bad or ugly he is
(08:15):
working all things together formy good because he loves me.
He's called me to his purposes.
He's got good plans for me.
Listen, I love the verse in John15, 16, that says you did not
choose me, but I chose you andappointed you that you should go
and bear fruit.
You know how you bear fruit Notby your own works.
(08:39):
You produce fruit in your lifeby staying connected to the vine
.
When you're connected to thevine, when you cultivate
connection with the Lord and youkeep that flow of his voice and
his presence open in your life,fruit is the natural result.
And so, listen, with a yes onmy lip and a thank you in my
heart, right Every day, you gotto get up and you got to keep
(09:02):
walking, not because you'requalified, not because you're
doing it all right, not becauseyou're this or that, you're
talented or you're whatever is.
Because you're his child, you'rehis son, you're his daughter.
He's chosen you and he'spromised to walk with you
through whatever you're goingthrough and to use it for your
good, to mature you and to bringyou into every good thing that
(09:24):
he has for you.
My friend, I pray that youwould rub this in.
Listen to this over and overand over, share it with a friend
, because, listen, if you don'tget this, you will not mature in
the Lord, I promise you.
But if you'll start gettingthis just day by day, and start
turning your heart toward theLord, checking your responses so
(09:44):
that you can get the resultsthat you want in your life.
I promise you, god's worddoesn't return void.
He's faithful when you turn tohim.
When you respond to the Lord inthe way that the Lord has
outlined in his word throughfaith, through focus on him,
through declaring his goodness,through remembering that he's
(10:05):
with you, I promise you you willsee change.
You will see faith grow, you'llsee maturity grow.
You'll see results and adifference in your life because
you chose to align your heartand mind with the truth of God's
word and with how the kingdomof God is designed to work in
your life.
I love you, my friend.
I hope this is an encouragementto you.
If it is, make sure that you'resubscribed, make sure that you
(10:28):
share it with a friend andremember until next time.
You were created to thrive.
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
(10:49):
Thriving Christian Artistpodcast, and also be sure to
connect with me on Facebook,instagram or at my website,
which is matttommymentoringcom.
Until next time, remember youwere created to thrive.
Bye-bye.
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, it's Matt, so glad that you're with me on
(00:24):
the podcast today.
You know I am an artist justlike you, living my life every
day, working and selling my artand mentoring artists and all
that sort of thing, and I knowthat in my life and in so many
of the lives of artists that Ihave the privilege of walking
with every day, I know that weall go through situations in our
(00:46):
life, even seasons in our life,that are uncomfortable and
trying, and sometimes justdownright difficult, Like we
don't like it, we don't knowwhat to do with it, and I've
learned, though, that how werespond in these seasons often
reveals the true condition ofwhat's really going on in our
heart, in other words, ourdeepest fears, our deepest
(01:11):
biggest hangups, and often tothe things that we kind of
instinctively turn to forcomfort in times when we're
uncomfortable and when we're inseasons that we don't like
what's going on.
But here's what I found If wewill allow the Lord to use these
moments of revelation when he'slike, hey, I'm putting my
finger on this thing, on yourheart, I'm using this season of
difficulty If we'll let him usethose moments of revelation to
(01:32):
expose in a good way areas ofour lives where he wants to
bring us into deeper places ofhealing and wholeness and
maturity, that is a wonderful,wonderful thing.
That's how growth happens inthe kingdom.
But here's what I know.
I know it from my life and Iknow it from the artists that I
work with.
Our flesh doesn't like that,right.
(01:54):
Our flesh naturally gravitatestoward the extremes of either
what I would call pride or pityright.
We either end up defendingourselves to sort of try to
prove our worth based on our ownmerits and all the things we've
done and all this sort of thing, or, on the other hand, we just
kind of collapse into anemotional puddle of of self-pity
, and sometimes we even do both.
(02:15):
I've been in both campssimultaneously sometimes.
And, uh, I think we all know wecan relate probably to that and
and realize that neither one ofthose responses is a healthy
response, right, and neither oneof those responses actually
leads to maturity andtransformation, which is what
we're all in the process of aswe're walking with the Lord here
(02:37):
on this earth.
But here's the thing, and I wantyou to really get this today
the older I get and the longer Iwalk with the Lord, the more I
realize that my responsedetermines my results.
I'm going to say that again myresponse in these situations
determines the results that Isee in my life.
(02:57):
See, if I end up responding inpride and entitlement, then I
got to end up defending thatright and I got to provide for
my own self and sustain my ownself in my own strength.
That was the curse of Adam andEve and Cain and all of that
right Any person in God's wordwho ended up separating
themselves from the Lord becausethey thought they could do it.
But what does James 4 say?
(03:18):
James 4 says God resists theproud but gives grace to the
humble.
So I don't want to be walkingproud.
I don't want to be respondingin pride and entitlement.
I want to walk in humility,right.
And what about if I respond invictimhood right, just in this
puddle of self-pity?
Well, when I do that, I alsoforfeit the good plans that
(03:39):
God's got for me and you kind ofresign yourself to this life of
defeat.
Things will always be like this.
I'll never get over this.
I'll never have another success.
This was the big one, this wasthe one that pushed it over the
edge and you just want to giveup.
But I want to remind you, youknow, just like Job said, the
thing that I feared has comeupon me right.
Just like it says in Proverbs27, three or 23, seven.
(04:02):
It says for as he thinks in hisheart, so is he right.
In other words, the thoughtsthat we dwell on create the
world that we dwell in.
If you are constantly focusingon and thinking about and
declaring out of your mouthvictimhood and and weakness and
and fear and all this stuff,guess what ends up showing up in
(04:23):
your life?
That right, and we don't wantthat to take the place of the
good plans that God has for us.
We don't want to resign ourlife to defeat.
We want to stand up and be ableto walk in faith toward the
things God has for us.
But you know, I've learned thatwalking in faith doesn't always
mean that you're like going outguns blazing, totally confident
(04:44):
, like we're all, we're going toget it.
I really believe it's more abouthumble maturity, right, and
humble maturity responds tothese kinds of situations
differently.
I believe humble maturitypauses, it breathes deeply.
It's like, okay, lord, I'mgoing through this.
I mean, I like it, but I'mgoing through it, jesus, right,
(05:05):
and I'm choosing to trust youintentionally and during that
sort of process, this kind ofresponse.
I think that the things thatI'm trying to do are remind
myself of some several things,right?
Number one I want to remindmyself that, hey, I'm here right
now in this situation, not byaccident, but by divine design,
(05:27):
right?
God's word says in Psalm 37, thesteps of the righteous are
ordered by the Lord and hedelights in his way.
God knows right where I am,he's got his finger on the pulse
of what is going on.
Number two God's with me, he'swithin me and he's promised that
he'll never leave me or forsakeme.
Right, he said that in Hebrews13.
(05:47):
So that's so important torealize that, where you are now,
you're not alone.
You're not there by mistake.
You're not there, you know,because you know you're, you're
weak or you didn't do somethingright or whatever it is.
You're there because God isallowing you and allowing me to
walk through both the good timesand the bad in life.
It rains on the just and on theunjust.
(06:09):
Right Jesus said in this worldyou're going to have trouble.
This is a normal part of livinglife.
God knows right where you are.
He's using all those thingsright Romans 8, 28.
He's working all those thingstogether for good.
Why?
Because he loves us and he'scalled us according to his
purpose.
He's got good plans for us,right, jeremiah 29, 11.
(06:30):
I know the plans that I havefor you, says the Lord to
prosper you, not to harm me, togive you a hope in a future.
And you got to remember too inthat that you can walk through
anything that comes your way.
Why?
Not because of your resume, notbecause of the results you've
had in your life, not becauseyou're so desperate that only
(06:51):
God can save you.
No, you're walking throughanything that comes in your way
in your life because you arehere, because of his permission,
because of his power, becauseof his purpose in your life.
Remember, philippians 4.13 saysI can do all things through
Christ, who strengthens me.
(07:12):
Listen, I don't know about you,but that stuff didn't come just
naturally out of me.
I've got to stir myself up inthe Lord, I got to remind myself
.
Now, listen, the more you walkwith the Lord, the more you put
his word in your heart.
The promise is true, right.
His word does not return void.
His word goes in and, with theHoly Spirit, is transforming you
(07:33):
and I from the inside out.
But I'm just telling you, theseare intentional things that you
got to turn your heart toward,to, and when you're going
through these situations of lifethat are difficult, even these
seasons of life that you don'tlike, it's so easy just to melt
into a puddle or to give up orjust to yield to whatever's
(07:54):
happening.
But I'm telling you, like David, you got to pull yourself up by
the scruff of your neck and saywhy so downcast?
Oh my soul, put your hope inGod.
I'm not here on accident.
I'm here by divine appointment.
God's with me.
He's not going to leave me orforsake me.
I could walk through anythingthat comes my way because he is
on my side and no matter whathappens good, bad or ugly he is
(08:15):
working all things together formy good because he loves me.
He's called me to his purposes.
He's got good plans for me.
Listen, I love the verse in John15, 16, that says you did not
choose me, but I chose you andappointed you that you should go
and bear fruit.
You know how you bear fruit Notby your own works.
(08:39):
You produce fruit in your lifeby staying connected to the vine
.
When you're connected to thevine, when you cultivate
connection with the Lord and youkeep that flow of his voice and
his presence open in your life,fruit is the natural result.
And so, listen, with a yes onmy lip and a thank you in my
heart, right Every day, you gotto get up and you got to keep
(09:02):
walking, not because you'requalified, not because you're
doing it all right, not becauseyou're this or that, you're
talented or you're whatever is.
Because you're his child, you'rehis son, you're his daughter.
He's chosen you and he'spromised to walk with you
through whatever you're goingthrough and to use it for your
good, to mature you and to bringyou into every good thing that
(09:24):
he has for you.
My friend, I pray that youwould rub this in.
Listen to this over and overand over, share it with a friend
, because, listen, if you don'tget this, you will not mature in
the Lord, I promise you.
But if you'll start gettingthis just day by day, and start
turning your heart toward theLord, checking your responses so
(09:44):
that you can get the resultsthat you want in your life.
I promise you, god's worddoesn't return void.
He's faithful when you turn tohim.
When you respond to the Lord inthe way that the Lord has
outlined in his word throughfaith, through focus on him,
through declaring his goodness,through remembering that he's
(10:05):
with you, I promise you you willsee change.
You will see faith grow, you'llsee maturity grow.
You'll see results and adifference in your life because
you chose to align your heartand mind with the truth of God's
word and with how the kingdomof God is designed to work in
your life.
I love you, my friend.
I hope this is an encouragementto you.
If it is, make sure that you'resubscribed, make sure that you
(10:28):
share it with a friend andremember until next time.
You were created to thrive.
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
(10:49):
Thriving Christian Artistpodcast, and also be sure to
connect with me on Facebook,instagram or at my website,
which is matttommymentoringcom.
Until next time, remember youwere created to thrive.
Bye-bye.
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