Chaos Precedes Calling: David's Creative Journey

Feeling hidden, overlooked, or stuck in a chaotic season? We walk through David’s creative journey to show how God forms artists from the inside out—long before the spotlight, long after the first breakthrough. This isn’t a pep talk about hustle; it’s a field-tested map for moving from chaos to calling with clarity and courage.

We start where most creators stumble: misreading obscurity as failure. Using David’s early years in the field, we unpack how communion with God grounds identity and becomes the wellspring of revelation. That revelation reframes what you see and how you act—why David saw more than a giant and why your own creative battles require an inner yes before public action. From there, we explore incarnation—the moment vision takes form through skill, excellence, and faithful risk—and why your sling on the battlefield is forged in secret, not on stage.

Resistance shows up next, both outside and within. We name the patterns: jealousy, delay, closed doors, fear, old narratives, and unhealed wounds. Through David’s failures and repentance, we show how cooperation with the Holy Spirit turns pressure into formation, not collapse. Then we scale the story: how private worship became a culture of day and night praise in the tabernacle of David, and what that means for modern artists who want their work to carry presence, not just polish. Throughout, you’ll get a practical rhythm to identify your current season, align your heart, and move forward without forcing the timeline.

If you’re ready to trade panic for process and talent for true formation, this conversation will meet you where you are—cave, battlefield, or throne room—and point you toward lasting impact. Subscribe, share with a creative friend, and leave a review with the season you’re in right now. Your yes today can become someone else’s breakthrough tomorrow.

Join the Foundations Course at https://www.matttommeymentoring.com/foundations

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Transcript

The Pattern Behind Creative Calling

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You know, there's a pattern that God uses in the life of every creative person in Scripture. And honestly, it's in every creative person that He's raising up today. Unfortunately, most artists have no idea what the pattern is. And so because of that, they end up misinterpreting the season of life that they're in. They think chaos means they miss God's plan. They think that resistance that they feel means that they failed. And they think that hidden seasons mean that God's forgotten them. But here's the good news that I've discovered. These seasons, especially the hard ones, aren't random. They're actually a part of a divine pattern that God uses, not just to elevate artists into impact and influence, but actually to form us internally from the inside out. And so in today's video, I'm going to show you how that hidden pattern actually manifested itself in the life of David so that you can understand exactly where you are in your journey without misreading the season or quitting before breakthrough happens in your life. Let's jump in. So David's story, just like every creative that God raises up, begins with chaos. And listen, if you've been following this series for a while, you know that chaos is the first part of what we call the redemptive creative arc that I've been teaching on here on the channel. It's this pattern that God uses to form every creative from the inside out. He doesn't use platform first or recognition or momentum. It's it's always starts with chaos. See, for David, chaos meant look being overlooked. It meant uh being left in the field. It meant being forgotten when the prophet came to anoint the next king. See, that kind of chaos, it really can mess with your mind. It messes with who you believe you are, your identity. It whispers things like, you're not seen, you're not enough, you what you do doesn't matter. But listen, the field for David was not accidental. See, chaos is often the birthplace of our creative calling. And it was for him. See, before David ever held a king's scepter, he held a shepherd staff. Before he ever shaped national worship, he was singing to God alone under the stars, laden with the sheep. And chaos always ends up pushing you somewhere. It'll either push you toward bitterness or it'll end up pushing you toward communion with God. Well, listen, thankfully, David chose communion with God. He he chose worship, he chose to engage with him. And listen, if you've ever felt like you're in a hidden season or a chaotic season creatively, let me know in the comments because I don't know about you, but I've definitely been there and I want to know who's watching right now and also let you know that you're not alone. And hey, while you're doing that, make sure that you hit the subscribe button and be sure to ring the bell so you never miss any of the great content that I'm producing right here on the channel for artists who love Jesus. So now with David, what watch what happens next. See, in the field, David didn't just practice his music, he was actually using music as a vehicle to cultivate God's presence. He he wrote psalms, he played the harp, he poured out his heart before God in worship. See, this communion with God wasn't just something he did on the side, it became his lifestyle before creativity became his assignment. And listen, that's huge because communion with God produces something powerful in all of us. It produces not only connection, but it it yields relationship and revelation. See, in other words, when you choose to spend time with God like David did, God chooses to speak to you. He chooses to show you things, he chooses to lead you. That's why when David faced Goliath, he saw something different than everybody else. He saw from revelation, right? The army saw a giant, but David saw a man defying the living God. See, I've just learned this. Revelation from God will always reframe your reality. But revelation also demands something from us, right? It demands our agreement, a yes in our heart, right? See, agreement is the internal precursor to seeing something come into incarnation. It's it's the moment that you say yes to the Lord. What you've shown me, Lord, is true. Like I believe it, I'm given my yes. It's when, it's when your heart aligns with heaven before your hands ever move. And agreement that that yes in your heart and your cooperation with it, that's what leads to incarnation. See, incarnation, again, is the external manifestation of what God has already revealed to you internally. And as you learn to cooperate with him as an artist through your skills and your talents and your gifts and your graces, that's how things become incarnate. See, David didn't just see externally, he agreed internally. He didn't just act on his own, he was responding to what God was showing him. He did that on the battlefield, right? See, even when he grabbed his slingshot, that wasn't random. That kind of responding to the Lord was cultivated in the secret place before it ever happened on the battlefield. And see, here's what's powerful. David's, you know, creative arc didn't peek at Goliath. That was really just the beginning. It deepened and deepened over years. I mean, remember later as you go on in David's story after seasons of warfare and exile and Saul pursuing him and kingship and all that, David did something really revolutionary. What we know in the Bible is the tabernacle of David. I mean, think of this. For for roughly 33 years, there was continuous day and night worship and prayer before the Lord. David started that, right? Creative expression going on. Musicians and singers, instrumentalists and psalms day and night. In other words, the communion with God that he had cultivated in the field years ago started being the culture of a nation. What began as his private devotional time with the Lord became this place of public atmosphere of worship. Listen, that is so crucial for us to understand as creatives because just like David, we have different seasons in our life. There's seasons when our creativity is deeply personal, where nobody else knows about it. There's songs written in caves for David. There are tears on parchment, there's repentance whispered in brokenness. There were seasons when he thought God had given up on him, where Saul was going to get him. But there's also seasons where creativity shined and it became a culture of national worship. Listen, here's the deal: all of those seasons mattered. All of them mattered. And I don't know where you are right now, but you know, maybe you're in a season where, like David, you feel like you're in a cave, or maybe you feel completely hidden, like God's forgotten you and nobody knows what's going on. Maybe you're in a season where you're starting to step out into influence and impact. See, all of those are parts of our journey. And the key for us is that we recognize the season and cooperate with God in it, not judge it or try to make it cooperate with our timeline, like I got to do this faster or whatever. Listen, if that resonates with you, I know it does with me. Let me know in the comments because this is the journey that we're all on as artists. Listen, now, after that chaos and responding with revelation and all that, usually what happens in our journey is resistance. And see, resistance can happen internally and externally, right? Externally, it can look like opposition and jealousy and closed doors and financial restraint and delay. I mean, David experienced all of those, right? I mean, Saul came after him. He was hiding in caves. There was uh political instability, but there's also this resistance that can be internal, right? Things like old belief systems and fears and insecurities and unresolved wounds and you know personal temptation. So, see, whether it's internal or external, any kind of resistance that's going on affects us. Because resistance, whether it's internal or external, is always this attempt by the enemy to pull you away from your design and your identity and your assignment. See, for David resistance looked like a king that was coming after him, trying to kill him, and the temptation of another man's wife, among many, many other examples you probably know. But here's the point through all of that. Whether he always made the right decision or not, he always ended up running back to his relationship with God, that place of communion. In fact, through all of those ups and downs, David was called a man after God's own heart. See, real transformation is what happens when you cooperate with the Holy Spirit through the resistance instead of collapsing under it. Real Holy Spirit transformation is what forms you inside to mature you. And when circumstances don't change immediately, that's when it matters. See, when David ended up repenting, that's when Psalm 51 was born, right? Create in me a clean heart, oh God, renew a right spirit within me. See, even in his failure, that became a formative and transformative experience, not only for him, but but for others. Even his repentance became creative surrender that we're all still benefiting from. It's still producing real life-giving transformation for us today in the Word of God. You know, David didn't end up building the temple. David ended up gathering the resources, right? He established worship culture in his nation. He prepared the pattern of worship. But his Psalms, you know, they're still shaping global worship thousands of years later. I read some just about every day. In other words, his transformative legacy wasn't just a throne. It wasn't just the things that you could see right then. It was the atmosphere that he created and the redemptive creative legacy that he left for all of us thousands of years later. See, here's what I've learned about the redemptive creative ark. It is almost never linear. It's this cycle, rather, that God walks you through again and again and again, kind of like going to deeper levels in our life. In other words, you're going to experience chaos more than once in your life. You're going to return to communion with God, hopefully over and over again and again. And God's going to give you fresh revelation in layers as you lean into Him and learn to hear His voice and follow His instructions. You're you're going to be invited into deeper agreement. And you will have the opportunity to bring in the incarnation new expressions in the context of your creative calling. And listen, when you're doing that, resistance is always going to surface. It's just part of the deal, externally and internally, over and over and over again. But listen, every time you choose to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, instead of just collapsing under that resistance, instead of reacting to the flesh, guess what? You end up maturing. You end up growing stronger in the Lord. See, I've just learned to the degree that you cooperate, to the degree that you learn to renew your mind and walk by faith and return to that place of communion with the Lord, that's the degree to which you mature and you grow. That's the degree to which your creative influence matures and expands in your life. See, here's the deal for all of us on our creative journey today, if you're in what feels like chaos right now, I want to encourage you, no matter what it looks like externally, just lean into that communion relationship with the Lord. And if you're in that place with the Lord that's beautiful, cultivating his relationship, then listen, expect revelation. God wants to speak to you. And when God does speak to you and gives you that revelation, that picture, that nudge, agree internally before you start acting externally by yourself. And listen, when resistance comes, then of course it will discern is that external pressure, is this internal distraction? Again, either way, whatever it is, choose to resist it and cooperate with the Holy Spirit. Listen, that rhythm with the Lord through our life is how we mature in Him. That rhythm is how transformative legacies and transformation end and through our life, that's how they're formed. See, God is not just about developing your art for art's sake. Art's great, like I love it, right? But he's into forming someone that can carry his presence, his creative nature in every season, not only for your benefit and for his glory, but for the transformation of others along the way. We're his ambassadors. We're the ones he's called to be, his hands and feet. Listen, if you need some help in your life, building that internal agreement, renewing your mind, strengthening your identity, allowing the Lord to heal your heart from some stuff in the past, learning to stabilize your relationship with him so that resistance doesn't derail you all the time. That's exactly why I created the foundation of course. It's where we establish identity before impact and influence. Because when identity in Christ is secure, chaos doesn't shake you all the time. When communion with the Lord is strong, that's when revelation flows. And when your mind is renewed, agreement with Him comes a whole lot easier. And when agreement is strong, guess what? Incarnation happens naturally. Listen, if you're serious about maturing spiritually and growing as a creative in God's kingdom, this is absolutely the best place for you to begin. Just click the link below and I hope we see you inside foundations. Listen, friend, God is raising up an army of artists all over the world who are not just more talented orphans, they're sons and daughters who love Jesus, are able to walk through the difficulties of life and not get destroyed by him, but grow with him from glory to glory to glory. That's God's plan for your life. And listen, I'm so glad you're here. It just takes a yes in your heart to be a part of this army of artists and just getting up every day saying, Lord, thank you that you've called me, that you've equipped me to do what you call me to do. And Lord, I link arms with Matt and with others that are on this same journey. Use me, Lord, in whatever you want to do in me and in my generation. Listen, I want to pray for you right now. Lord, thank you that whether we're going through the chaos, whether we're in a sweet place of communion, whether we're just tore up with resistance right now, Lord, and just feeling like it's just at every turn, like we can't catch a break. God, we know that you are drawing us deeper and deeper and deeper into our relationship with you, not only so that we can be formed internally, but also so that we can be used by you to release your transformation externally. And Lord, we say we're not perfect. You know that better than anybody, but Lord, we say we're willing. We're available. Just like the prophet of old, Lord, we say, Here am I, send me. Use me, Lord, for your glory. Transform my heart. Take my art and use it for what you want to use it for. Transform my life and use me for your glory. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Listen, I love you, friend. I'm so glad you're here. Make sure that you leave me a comment. Make sure you hit the subscribe button so you never miss any of the great content. Also, make sure you watch this next video all about the redemptive creative arc. It's gonna be a big, big blessing to you. And remember, till next time, you were created to thrive.