Jump out of the Boat: On Having Creative Courage

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“But Jesus immediately said to them, ‘Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.’
‘Lord, if it is you,’ Peter replied, ‘Tell me to come to you on the water.’
‘Come,’ He said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came to Jesus.”
Matthew 14:27-29

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​Sometimes, it can take a lot of courage to get out of the boat to begin with.

I am very new to this “prophetic art” thing; in fact, I didn’t know it even existed until last Fall (2018). I was officially baptised in January 2019 and God redeemed my artistic ability for His use in March, a scant two months later. Before that, my forays into art as an adult were haphazard at best and largely ignored at worst. I didn’t set out to be an artist. I wanted to be a musician. When God called me to art — NOT my preconceived notions of musicianship — I was shocked and terrified, much like Peter and the other Disciples in the boat that day on the stormy ocean.

​These days, I am rarely without my sketching supplies during the service. My church is rather traditional, and when God called me to begin making art IN church, I was mortified. What if I offended some of the elders? What if someone thought I was being disrespectful? A good friend and Deaconess in our congregation encouraged me: if you don’t walk in your giftings, if you don’t allow yourself to move with the Spirit, no one else will have the courage to, either.

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“No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.”
Matthew 5:15

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​There is real danger for us as creatives and artisans to hide our lamps under baskets, especially in church settings. Our passion and drive to create, dance, or sing is so different on the surface from more accepted things like prayer or teaching. And yet, for those of us who have had our gifts redeemed by Jesus, they all burst forth from the same fountain of faith. We are made in the image of our Creator, and thus, we create, too. Many of us cannot begin a work, let alone see it through to completion, without the intimacy of relationship with the Father. Our gifts are no less valued or valuable to the edification and encouragement of the Body. Our gifts are no less of a worthy and honest, heartfelt offering of worship to Jesus. And with Him as our guide, we have nothing to fear from letting our lamps shine out for the rest of the house.

“Immediately Jesus reached out His hand, caught hold of him [Peter] and said to him, ‘You of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:31)

Let’s take His hand and jump out of the boat, shall we?

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Heather Stearns - guest blogger

Heather Stearns is an undomesticated Christian woman delightfully sketching the wilds of rural Washington and gifting others with Holy Spirit-led artwork. A self-taught artist, she works primarily with fountain pen and ink, colored pencil, and watercolor. You can see her latest sketches on Instagram @hsnakeart or buy selected work at her Etsy shop:  http://hsnakeart.etsy.com.