Creativity - from the Source

“I was blocked. The professor asked the class to come up with a metaphor for curriculum and my mind was not working. Finally, I asked God to remove the block. He did, and the answer was so amazing.”

My friend proved for herself what James says about asking for wisdom. As she talked, I thought about His rich simplicity. God’s answers are never bizarre, but ideas that perfectly fit the situation for which we need them. He is true wise and our source for wisdom.

There is a prerequisite though. We generally do not simply ask for wisdom about each and every situation and continually receive God’s wonderful and deep responses. We first need to be at that place where we acknowledge that our own wisdom bin is empty. Most of us don’t want to go there! That is why the Bible says,

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8)

The Greek words used here describe a person that has “two souls.” On one hand, he trusts God and knows that God is wise and wants to help him. On the other, he has a few ideas in the back of his mind to solve his own problem, plan B as it were. This says to me that I need to be at the bottom of the barrel if I am going to expect an answer to my prayers for wisdom. Those prayers must be out of deep felt needs rather than mere asking. I’m not talking to a genie in a bottle.

My devotional reading says that unwavering faith simply believes that God is a sovereign, loving God who will supply everything needed for understanding the trial and being able to endure it. The writer adds that whatever the trial is, I can believe that God allowed it for His purpose and my spiritual maturity. As a Christian, I know that nothing happens randomly.

In the case of my friend, the trial of blocked creativity showed her once again that God is the original Creator. His mind is incredible. He created the universe by speaking it into existence. He knows the exact solution for every problem and question.

I will not share His answer to her, that wonderful metaphor for curriculum. Someday others might have the same question, and in the wisdom of God the answer might be different. He offers unique solutions to each of us and as we go to Him for them, we can identify with His disciples in Mark 7:37. The Bible says that they were “astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well. . . .'”