What to do when you find yourself more inspired by God's People than God?

Have you ever sat with the thought that you are getting your inspiration to create from other creatives than The Creator?

I recently sat with this as I started to view a behavior pattern in the creative world of social media. Now, don't get me wrong. I have heard the phrase "steal like an artist" and I myself love a good scroll on Pinterest for some inspo. But how often are we as Christian Creatives, taking the time to pray and be in communication with God for our next creative adventure?

I can honestly say that I have struggled with this and I am learning how to rely more on God than the Internet Pew of God's People. ( ya get, it?)

DO I think that it's a problem to be inspired by someone or something that you've seen online. No. I think that it has an essential role in building community and having your pieces shared.

I think the struggle, (or maybe it's not a struggle) but the issue, comes when we are no longer relying on the passion and ideas inside of us to create and are only creating because the algorithm is pushing a certain trendy craft/art piece/genre.

So, how does one start creating with God? I can only suggest what has helped me. I personally like to disconnect from social media platforms for a few days. Then, I go into prayer. To be honest, most of the time, I have to fight the mental "To-do" list that wants to come to mind when I start a prayer. In the prayer, I ask God something similar to "direct my steps" "should I be creating right now" "help me to understand why I want to create this" and I typically have to sit with those questions for a period of time. But oh how I thought that I could get the answers instantly. ha

But that's usually the point. I have to take a beat. I have to slow down my creative process. The issue that arises when we rely on the Internet Pew of God's People or social media algorithms is that we have to keep up with the pace that they set. That's usually accompanied by fear driven motives like "not being trendy" "loosing your audience" and more. And I do not consider myself an Influencer. However, I do enjoy sharing the things I make online in hopes of building a community of individuals who enjoy creating similarly. [Okay, and getting some praise from my supportive family. I love y'all.]

Even as I write this blog post, I am pondering on this idea itself because it reminds me of a video I watched by StephSewn. And now I am questioning the uniqueness of this thought. So, do not look to me as the expert because I am also looking for different ways to be inspired more by God and less by the algorithm.

I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions below on how to grow more inspired by God. Leave me a comment. Let's chat.

Until next time,