After a restless night’s sleep, your alarm rings on a snowy morning and you drag yourself out of bed feeling the weight of a deadline on your shoulders. Steaming mug of coffee in hand, you hesitantly make your way to the designated workspace.
There was a time when you thought that the entirely glass walls overlooking the scenic mountain landscape would catalyse creative genius. Now, as you stare at blank canvas in front of you, you feel completely numb.
Lacking inspiration
Finding yourself caught in a routine can be a blessing to some and counterproductive to others. Different seasons in life can leave us severely lacking inspiration, whether our work is creative or technical. Slowly slumping into numbness is easy following a series of life events that leave you feeling isolated or in a wilderness.
“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” (Hebrews chapter 6, verse 19)
Personally, I have found that the preluding numbness and lack of inspiration spring from a lack of hope. This scripture in Hebrews springs to mind as a reminder that being without an anchor leaves us drifting. Whether we are drifting away from God, our community, or the very things that inspire us, we have drifted into isolation. Finding the root of a lack of inspiration takes introspection and prayer, but we also need to know how to listen to our Creator when He speaks.
Hope in the Creator
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” (Isaiah chapter 40, verse 28)
A lack of inspiration can become a pit of quicksand if we forget to recognise that the Creator of the ends of the earth is where our hope truly lies. This scripture in Isaiah is a beautiful reminder that we do not look to ourselves as a source of hope, strength or inspiration, but we place our focus on a Creator who is beyond our own understanding and who never grows tired. Learning to surrender the things that are out of your control to an everlasting God can only bring with it a renewed hope.
“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah chapter 40, verse 31)
We were created by a Creator, made in His likeness in the very beginning. When we find our hope and our identity in Him, we find that our inspiration springs from a new source – we allow hope to break forth and create a place in our souls that becomes rich with inspiration
Look at the blank canvas
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis chapter 1, verse 1)
Inspiration can be found in many places, but the true source that never runs dry is from finding our hope in the true Creator. I find my inspiration in the truth and knowledge that He saw a canvas and chose to create and give us free will to choose a life after Him.
My first step is to find myself in His word and in His guidance once again, even when I feel consumed by the emptiness. It’s there that we can find Him again; from the still small whisper of His voice to the majestic roarings bellowing across the plains.
Looking back at the blank page I started with, looking at the lack of inspiration we may face, looking at the depths of hopelessness we may feel, the thing that we can be sure of is that we are secure when our hope is in the One who created us to create. Looking at the cup of coffee next to you, what will you do with the blank canvas?
Hailing from South Africa, Crystelda is an avid nerd and an unapologetic dreamer. With a BSc. Biological Sciences and BCom Hons in marketing, she has launched the Christian lifestyle blog - Selah Blogger and is the joint winner of the 2019 International Theology Award. The blog can be found at https://selahblogger.wordpress.com/ and her previous articles may be viewed at https://www.pressserviceinternational.org/crystelda-naidoo.html