The Thriving Christian Artist

3 Ways Seeing God as Artist Changes Everything

• Matt Tommey: Artist, Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Entrepreneur and Artist Mentor

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What if the very first way God introduces himself sets the tone for your entire creative life? We open Genesis and meet a Creator at work, and that single lens reshapes how we read Scripture, how we show up in the studio, and how we handle the mess between vision and completion. Instead of treating creativity as a side hobby, we trace how every later title—redeemer, king, shepherd—flows from a creative heart that brings form out of chaos and beauty out of dust.

We walk through three anchors that steady artists in real time. First, your story is God’s artwork. Isaiah’s potter and clay and Paul’s assurance in Philippians reframe the “messy middle” as part of the masterpiece, not proof of failure. Second, you were made to co-create. Ephesians 2:10 calls you God’s poema, crafted for good works prepared in advance, and we lay out practical ways to invite the Holy Spirit into theme, process, and decision-making so your work resonates rather than strains. Third, create from love, not for love. Zephaniah’s singing God helps us trade perfectionism for partnership, performance anxiety for peace, and urgent hustle for the durable favor of Psalm 90 that establishes the work of our hands.

Along the way we share stories from the studio—paint drips, collapsed clay, wax in places it shouldn’t be—and show how God is not nervous about process. You’ll learn a simple daily liturgy to start your sessions, how to listen for creative guidance, and how to hold deadlines without losing soul. The goal isn’t just better art; it’s a grounded life that carries the presence of God into every canvas, lyric, and client meeting.

If this encouraged you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs fresh creative courage, and leave a quick review to help more artists find us. Ready to take the next step? Check the links for our foundations course and sign up for the free Thriving Christian Artist Weekly to stay inspired and resourced.

Resources for Christian Artists:

1) The Foundations Course: https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/foundations

2) Best-Selling Books: https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/resources

3) The Thriving Christian Artist Newsletter: https://thrive.matttommeymentoring.com/tca-weekly

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SPEAKER_00:

You know, the first way that God reveals himself to us in the Bible is as an artist. And once you start to see him that way, it'll completely transform the way you read the Bible, the way you see your art, and the way you see your entire life story. So in this video, I'm going to give you three simple but powerful ways that seeing God as an artist first can absolutely transform your creative process, deepen your connection with Him, and help you really have purpose and fulfillment in every part of your life as an artist in God's kingdom. So there's this great principle that we have in Bible study called the law of first mention. And it really means that the first time you see something in the Bible, it sort of sets the stage, if you will, for every other time you see that same concept in God's word. And here's the powerful thing about that. The first way that we see God reveal himself to humanity in the Bible is as an artist. Remember in Genesis 1.1, it says, in the beginning, God what? He created. And so that sets the stage. God as artists sets the stage for every other way that we see God reveal himself then throughout the Word. So when you're seeing God show up as a redeemer or as a king or as a judge or as a loving shepherd, he's doing that from the place of being an artist. He's doing that through the lens of being an artist. I don't know about you, but for me, that is hugely encouraging as somebody that's that's called and created as an artist because I realize that everything that God does in all of his work in humanity and all of the stories in the Bible, he's doing it from the heart of being an artist first. In other words, all of those roles of redeemer and king and father flow out of his creative nature. See, that's so important to get because creativity is not something that's just an add-on for all of us artists. No, it's the very nature of God, and it's the very nature of how the kingdom of God is designed to work. And listen, when you start to understand this, like I said at the beginning, it changes everything. So the first reason that seeing God as an artist first is so important is that you start to see your life as God's artwork. You know, I love to start everything here we do on the channel with scripture. And I want to take you to Isaiah 64, 8. It says this, yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay. You are the potter. We are the work of your hands. In other words, you're not random. You're not a mistake. Your life isn't random. You're literally planned, you're a planned piece of artwork by the Lord. And you and I are being shaped every day that we walk with him. And as every artist knows, a masterpiece always looks a little messy before it gets finished. I don't know about you, but I could definitely relate to the messy middle of my life as an artist. And sometimes in the middle of those messy times, we feel like, oh man, is God done with me? Am I gonna make it out of this? But we just have to remember that we're on the, we're on the potter's wheel. You know, just like it it talks about that in Jeremiah that God's the potter. We are the clay, that he's shaping us and molding us and making us. And sometimes that's a little bit uncomfortable, but we have to remember what God's word says. I love it in Philippians 1.6, where it says, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to the completion, even until the day of Christ Jesus. In other words, God's not nervous about the messy middle, God's not nervous about the process, God's not nervous about you looking perfect. He's not nervous about that. And he's not worried about that. He knows exactly what he's forming in you. He trusts himself in you and through you. And I don't know about you, but that gives me a lot of hope and a lot of confidence. So, you know, one of the practical takeaways that I take a lot of comfort from is that I don't have to rush the process. No matter if I'm feeling like everything is working great, or whether it's you know just right on time, or whether I'm feeling like things are are taking a little bit too long, I can trust that my life is being moved at the timing of the Lord. And so everything that I'm walking through, the good times, the bad times, the hard times, the challenges, the pruning, and the moments of flourishing and harvest, all of those are like different colors and layers and textures and patterns that we'd put in a in a piece of work. God is using those as layers in our own life to create us as his work of art and as a display of his glory. And again, that is just so cool and so encouraging to all of us as artists on this journey with him. Now, the second reason why seeing God as an artist first is so transformative is that we realize that as his creation, we were created to co-create with him. We're not created as artists to live over here in a creative silo and our spiritual life over here, but we realize as sons and daughters that the Holy Spirit is living inside of us, that we don't do things separately from God. We don't do things separately for God. We're designed to do things with him. I love the scripture where Jesus talks about, you know, I just do the things that I see the Father doing. And you know, one of the things that we know that the Father is doing is creating us and molding us and making us as his masterpiece. I want to put it up on the screen for you, Ephesians 2.10, which says this, for we are his workmanship. And again, that word there is workmanship, is poema, right? The word we get for poem. I love that. It says, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. So think about that. Before you were born, before you were ever created, maybe before the even the world and the stars were in place, God thought about you, he planned you, he designed you, and he planned and prepared good works for you to do with him on board inside of you through the leadership of the Holy Spirit. I mean, I don't know about you, but that is like super, super powerful. Your life and my life are the poem, the creative expression, the masterpiece of God working in us and through us. So we are in a very real way God's artwork. Now, lest we think that God is only a visual artist, we know that he's the father of all creativity, right? I love it in Zephaniah 3:17. It says this the Lord your God is with you. Again, not separate, he's with us, the mighty warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you. In his love, he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. So think of this. Not God not only created you as his masterpiece, but as you are living and moving and having your being in him as the artist that he created, he's up in heaven and he's within you through the power of the Holy Spirit singing over you and in you. And I and I just think about wow, we get the opportunity to not only enjoy the knowledge that God is singing over us, but I believe that we get to resonate with the song of God within us, that as the breath of God and the nature of God begin to move in our life, it's his Holy Spirit that empowers us to release it through our life. And that is so powerful. It really drives this point home that our creativity is not just about performance, but it's a partnership with him. Now, the third reason that seeing God as an artist first is so transformative is that it allows us to create from a place of love, not for God's love. We create from his love, not for a desire to be perfect in every way, not trying to be a perfectionist. That is so, so, so important. Listen, I don't know about you, but I've been an artist for a long time, and I know that creating art is rarely ever perfect. It's always messy. There's always paint dripping and clay collapsing, and I use encaustic wax, and so it's always getting all over everything. And sometimes it's in my hair, and sometimes it gets on the wall, and sometimes I'm like, what is going on? Like, I'm supposed to be a professional here, and yet it's just a messy process. But you know, the thing that I've learned about the Lord is that God doesn't get nervous in the messy. When you realize that in those messy moments, God is shaping you, and that even when you're not put together, even when life doesn't make sense, even when you think there's no way that God could use all of my inadequacy and my inability and the places that I've messed up and the things that I don't understand about my life as an artist, there's no way that he could use all of those for the for his glory. You start to back up and you realize, nope, I'm not creating for God's love. I'm not creating to prove myself, I'm not trying to be perfect in this process to please him. I'm creating with him. I'm not performing for him. And my friend, when you start to create from that place, from his love, from knowing that you're his child, everything changes. It allows the rest of God, the supernatural peace of God to begin to be resident inside of you and flow through you as you create. And hey, if that's kind of a foreign concept for you, don't worry. I want to encourage you to check out the foundations course that's right here in the description of this video. It's rooted in helping you to understand who you are in Christ as an artist in God's kingdom. You know, I love it in Psalm 90, verse 17. It says, May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us. Just imagine that, like the favor of God just resting on everything that you are, who you are, and all that you do, just resting on you. It says, Establish the work of our hands for us. Yes, establish the work of our hands. So get that. As you're with the Lord, creating from this place of being loved and resting in him, you can trust that his favor is resting on you, not because of what you do, listen, but because of who you are. You're his child. He's called you and created you according to his purposes. And so when you begin to realize that everything that you're doing is done with him and for his glory, you can then realize that, gosh, I don't have to make it happen. It's the Lord that wants to establish the work of my hands. He wants to make the things that we do count, not only in our life and not for our life, but also through our life, that we might be able to walk in the abundant life that Jesus promised us, but also that he would be glorified, that his nature would be released, and that lives would be transformed because we chose to say yes to the calling of God in our life as an artist, and because we chose to walk in that place of quiet confidence that says, I don't have to prove anything. When I show up in the studio, I'm doing it from a place of love and rest. And that in itself is the ground where transformation begins to flow in you and through you as an artist. You know, my friend, when you start to see God as artists first, everything shifts. You start to operate in a place of rest. You start to see his fingerprints all over everything you're doing. And you start to be able to lean back and be able to really walk in a settled, confident place, knowing that your father is singing over you. He's singing through you, he's the potter that is shaping your life, he's the author that is writing your story, he's the loving father that has gone before you and is behind you and is surrounding you with songs of deliverance so that you can fulfill every good thing that he, as the master artist, has designed for your life. So this week, I want to invite you not just to make art, but to start making art with him. In other words, just invite the Lord into your process as you walk in the in your creative place this way this week, whether it's an extra bedroom or your dining room table, or maybe you've even got a studio like me, just pause for a moment and say, Holy Spirit, thank you that I'm your masterpiece and thank you that you want to create with me. And Holy Spirit, I just invite you right now to fill me with your spirit and to lead me by your voice and by your spirit today as we create together. And listen, when you do, you're gonna be amazed at how your creative process gets absolutely transformed by just the simplicity of that invitation. Let me pray for you real quick. Father, thank you so much that my friend is watching right now and desiring to understand what it means to see you as artists. God, thank you that everything that you do in our life and all throughout your word and in your kingdom every day, God, it flows out of your creative nature to bring those things which are not yet, the things which are in your heart, to bring them both in us and through us by your creative nature and allow us to participate in this process of seeing your nature and your transforming power cover the earth like the waters cover the sea, to see our lives be used by you, God, to see transformation happen in the lives of those around us. And at the same time, I get to live the abundant life that you promised. Lord, we thank you for that. God, I pray today by the Holy Spirit that you would draw my friends so close to you as they create. God, remind them of this message and remind them of your desire to create with them every day. We thank you for that, God, in Jesus' name. Amen. Hey, my friend, listen, thank you so much for being with me today. If this message has been a blessing to you, please leave me a comment. Please hit the subscribe and the like button. And listen, share it on other social media platforms if you want to with other friends, send them an email, let them know that this channel is here, that it's making a difference in your life, and it's being a part of raising up this incredible army of artists that God's raising up all over the world. I hope you'll also check out all of the incredible resources that we have down here below. One in particular is called our foundations course. And if you're just starting to understand this idea that, hey, God wants to create with me, God's got a plan for my life as an artist. And you realize that maybe you've wanted that your whole life, but really not known the steps to how to start walking in it. That's exactly why I created the foundations course. It helps artists just like you gain clarity, confidence, and creative freedom in Christ. It's a nine-week journey in the context of community with daily art projects that help me to help you lay a biblical foundation in your life for what it means to be an artist in God's kingdom, to get rid of some of the habits and thought patterns that have held you back in your life up until now and start really walking in all of the promises that God has for you in your life. You can find out all the details right here in the description, as well as a ton of other resources that we've got for you as an artist that wants to grow in everything that God has for you. Hey, friend, I'm Matt Tommy. I love you. I'm here every week trying to bless your socks off and help you be everything that God's called you to be in the kingdom. I hope we see you again. And remember till next time, you were created to thrive. Bye. Hey, my friend, before you go, make sure that you're signed up for the Thriving Christian Artist Weekly. It's my free newsletter full of spiritual encouragement, creative inspiration, and practical tips to help you thrive in everything that God's called you to do as an artist in his kingdom. Every issue is absolutely free, and it includes the latest podcast episode, featured artist spotlights, a worship song of the week, and again, tons of tips and encouragement and inspiration for you to keep you inspired and encouraged in everything that God's got for you as an artist in the kingdom. You can click the link right here in the show notes to join us, and it's a great way to stay connected. All right, love you. Bye.