Inspiration

Posted by Dion Todd October 13th, 2019 7,344 Views 0 Comments

Inspiration from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Today I want to talk about inspiration, when a creative idea suddenly downloads into your brain. That is not an accident. It happens for a purpose, and it may be more important than we think. Let’s begin in Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 4:

Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4–5 NKJV

God told Jeremiah that He knew him before he was born and had already equipped him to be a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah was born into the world with the gift set to match his calling. Now that was his calling, but we each have our own calling in this life. The words that Jeremiah spoke were given to him by the Holy Spirit, a sudden inspiration. Prophecy flowed from him. When he wrote, the words were inspired by the Holy Spirit, but it was Jeremiah’s hands that wrote them down.

Peter wrote: “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21 NKJV).

Paul wrote: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17 NKJV). 

The Bible we have today was written by around forty different authors who had diverse backgrounds, over the course of about 1500 years. Isaiah was a prophet, Ezra was a priest, Matthew was a tax collector, John was a fisherman, Paul was a tentmaker, Moses was a shepherd, Luke was a physician. The Holy Spirit gave them the inspiration and they began writing down the words that came to them. Today we often take it for granted, but what if they had never sat down and begun to write?

We are God’s hands and feet on the Earth. Think of Moses in Exodus 3:9:

“the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:9–10 NKJV). 

God heard the cry of Israel, who were slaves in Egypt at the time, and He told Moses, “Come here, I’ll send you…”. When God sees a need, He sends a person. If God wants a book to be written, He will give it to a person to write. He may choose you. What will you do with this precious gift? Sadly too many of us ignore it and never do anything. The next great invention will only happen if the inspired person takes action.

There is a vast untapped power source for Christians: the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But it is only useful if we expend the energy and resources to make it become a reality. We are born like Jeremiah with a unique combination of skills, gifts, and talents. Our life and experience have shaped and honed them until there is no one quite like us. He speaks to each of us. Jesus said: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27 NKJV). If you are one of God’s sheep, then you can hear His voice.

Sometimes we are too timid, scared, but the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). Sometimes we want to see the end from the beginning, how it will all work out before we start, but His plan comes one step at a time, in seed form. His plans usually start small and humble. Even Jesus, the King of Kings, was born in a stable. You don’t get to see very far down the road. His word is a lamp unto our feet. We have to take a step in order to see further. You don’t get to see step two, until you have completed step one.

I can tell you a little about inspiration, as it seems that I was created to be doing what I am doing here. Refreshing Hope depends daily on the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in writing devotionals, songs, creating videos, thinking of better subroutines in my programming, what hardware to use for each task. I pray and listen for His thoughts, and then run with it. After years of doing it this way, I try not to worry about what I will be doing tomorrow or next week. What I am doing today, that is what matters. Without His inspiration, we are empty, we are lifeless.

Inspiration has a shelf life. For example, sometimes I will hear myself singing a song and realize that I’ve never heard it before, because it hasn’t been written yet. If I don’t stop and write it down, it will leave and soon be forgotten. Every song I have composed, every devotional that I have written, every video we have created, is there because we prayed and listened for His inspiration. We then use the skills that He has given us to make that inspiration into a reality. 

These are just examples of things that we work on here in our life. What God has in store for you may look a lot different, but the process is the same: Pray. Listen. Act. Start by praying and begin to do what you think you should already be doing. You don’t get to see step two until you have taken step one. As you work bringing His inspiration into reality, His provision comes with the vision. We start in the strength that we have and depend on Him to make up the difference.

I hope to inspire you to listen for that still, small voice and to turn those ideas into a reality. We have an unlimited fountain to drink from: the precious Holy Spirit. His people should be on the cutting edge of creativity in every generation. He is not just creative, He is the Creator and He created us in His likeness.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I want Your inspiration. Forgive me for not listening or taking action in the past when You have spoken to me. Please give me a fresh start and speak to me in a way that I understand. Help me see the things that I should be focusing on in my life, help me realize the skills and gifts that you have given me and to use them to their fullest potential, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.