Day 8 — Inspire Us

Exodus 31:1-5:

Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— 4 to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 5 to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.

We have spent the last couple of months journeying with Moses and the people of Israel through Exodus – you can catch up on the talks on our website. In Exodus 31 the Lord commissions the designers, artists and creators to make the tabernacle (the Lord’s earthly dwelling place) beautiful, to create clothes and objects and furniture that will draw people’s attention to just how precious, beautiful and sacred He is. What an explosion of creativity that must have been in the middle of the wilderness! Bezalel is chosen specifically and is the first example in the Bible of a person being filled with the Spirit. The reason? To be inspired and to create!

We worship an incredible creator God – the one who ex nihilo (from nothing) made countless stars, stunning skies, the grandeur of the mountains, the raging oceans. He is a God of design and invention, of beauty and genius creativity. And the Holy Spirit, the third person of the trinity does nothing less than reflect that beauty and creativity. When we are filled with the Spirit it opens the possibility that, as Bezalel found, we can be filled with creative wisdom, understanding, knowledge and skill in every area of our lives.

This is a time of unprecedented creativity in our world. New ideas, new inventions, new thinking, new strategising, new songs, new hobbies, new conversations are in abundance despite the limitations. The limits don’t seem to be shutting creativity down, but rather making us think differently – a surefire way for Spirit-filled humans to access a new, never-before-thought-of creativity. Let’s determine to enjoy the creativity of the Spirit today in all aspects of our lives. We may be in lockdown – but the Spirit is as wild, creative and free as ever!

Action: If you have a moment watch this TED talk called ‘Embrace the Shake’ which explores the power of creativity within limitation.

Prayer — 
Holy Spirit come and fill me now to see the creative possibilities in this moment. 

Ali Herbert
Associate Pastor