Recently I attended the YWAM Together conference in Kansas City, USA. It was an incredible experience to be surrounded by so many “family” members and see their passion for Jesus!

I am personally very inspired by music and the arts and how they can be used in ministry. I believe that God’s character can be so clearly displayed in the way that we celebrate life – including music, visual art, dance, sports, culinary art, filmmaking, and so on. It was incredible to be part of the smaller groups at this conference that zeroed in a bit more on our specific callings and passions, and this particular group was centered on how God uses this area of celebration in our lives to reveal himself.

Many contacts were made at this gathering, including one new friendship that offered an incredibly inspiring word of wisdom: “If you don’t take your calling seriously, God will wait in grace and kindness until you do. But when you do take that step and come into your calling with resolution, God meets us in that and the ball truly begins to roll.” For most of my adult-life thus far (though I’m not far into it), I have struggled to take my calling seriously. I get so caught up in my insecurities: I don’t have formal training, I am only 21, I don’t know much about music, etc. It has held me back tremendously in following what I know to be the area God has called me to.

I am a musician. I am a songwriter. I am a creator – and I take after my Father. I believe there is a certain level of shame associated with artists, like we shouldn’t put ourselves out there or fully recognize our gifting or else we will act in pride. I want to challenge that belief, though. I want to put out the idea that rejecting the truth of who we are and the talents and gifts we have is pride itself, disguised in the clothing of humility. Refusing to acknowledge that God is working in us or has given us specific abilities is a false brand of humility that we wear for the sake of getting people to tell us who we are. We want to hear our friends and families sharply reprimand us and say: “Quit being so humble! You are so talented!” I am beginning to see this as a form of manipulation, a tool I have used on many occasions.

God’s freedom has shown me that it truly is possible to recognize who we are and what we have in our hands without caving to the pressures of pride. It is possible for us to know fully who we are (which is true humility – because if we know who we are we are also aware of our need for God’s power to perfect our weakness) and humbly walk in our callings. So take hold of your dream, your calling, your vision! Acknowledge the risk that it is to step out in faith and choose to do it because God’s strength is enough to cover what you lack. You are not alone in your great big ideas about how you’d like to change the world – God will fight with you for that dream. Feel the fear and do it because what you have to say can bring huge new revelations about God that the world so desperately needs to hear.

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