I love working on a new idea…and hopefully it’s a God idea. The more inspired and excited I am about it, the bigger my commitment is to bring it all together. My husband and kids usually just shake their heads and say, ”here we go again” when I start to share my latest idea. But they have also got to be involved in some pretty cool stuff, learnt how to lead and be up in front of others, discovered and experienced a variety of places all around the world and have had the privilege of meeting lots of different people. All through the power of a creative idea.
To think creatively and to have new ideas is so important to who we are, in how to live a life which is thriving and not just surviving, and to create a space where people are able to contribute in a positive way to the world around them. “When we allow ourselves to think creatively it inspires ideas and ideas inspire change.”
Everything begins with an idea, and good ideas are far more likely to become great ideas when we allow creative thoughts to flow, give ourselves permission to fail, examine our ideas from different angles, pray over and then LET THEM OUT!
Some things I have learnt about ideas and how to make them happen are:
Keep quiet about your idea until its properly “birthed” in your heart and mind. Let it perculate. If you share ideas too quickly then the “seed” of an idea will quite possibly be stomped all over and never even make it to the planning stage.
Pray, seek God and a green light from Him to proceed. That usually means having an “inner witness ” or peace in our spirits that this is a “God idea” and not just a good idea. It’s also the knowing inside of us (even if we feel initially unsure), that we are to run with it.
Write your idea down – make it plain and simple to understand. The bible says to, “write the vision and make it plain that they who see it might run with it” (Habakkuk 2:2) Meaning that the vision or idea is simple to read and easy for everyone to move on and quickly grasp hold of so that they get involved.
Share it – but share it with like minded and spirited people – God warns us to, “not cast our pearls before swine” (Matthew 7:6). Meaning don’t lay out everything that’s important to us in front of just anyone, but people who have the same heart, and who we already have or can build a strong connection with.
Plan a strategy to make it happen. This is where God’s wisdom and the direction and leading of the Holy Spirit is important. Let Him lead, help gather others, bring provision into your hands, and reveal the easiest route or method to achieve the idea. Otherwise we can easily find ourselves doing things in our own strength, and end up getting stressed out about something that should have been a blessing.
Get others involved- this is where our leadership skills, our capacity to trust both God and others, and our ability to “let go and let them” are revealed as we ask people to get involved with our idea. Inspiring others and the ability to build a team around us is something we can always develop and work on, and it’s what makes the best of creative ideas come to fruition. Not only does it half the workload, but it also gives other people the chance to be a part of the idea, and to make it their own. Generally we are “better together” and we can achieve so much more.
Be encouraged next time you have an idea to give it time to perculate and settle in your heart before talking. Then talk to God about it, plan a strategy with Him, follow His directions, share it with others and take a team approach.
Whether its simply motivating your household to have a cleanup around the house, to take a holiday or visit or try something new, it all starts with an idea. Likewise the larger scale things such as; travelling, moving, putting on an event or big celebration, starting a new venture, business, outreach, ministry or new church, remember everything starts with an idea, and its our job to discover which ideas are God ideas and which are simply good ones.
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans”. (Proverbs 16:3)
Prayer: Lord please help me to know the difference between a good idea and one coming directly from you, so that I can focus and spend my time, energy and creativity on “God ideas” that will have the greatest impact, and bring the most joy and fulfilment to both my life and those around me. In Jesus name Amen
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