I just got back from speaking on Creativity at several churches in Switzerland and France. I had a great time imparting and activating so many people in their creative destiny.
I also received an impartation from Switzerland…chocolate.
Believe me, my suitcase probably weighed an extra 20 pounds due to all of the chocolate I brought back for my family and friends to devour upon arrival back home.
Of course Switzerland is known for its amazing chocolate.
My team and I toured a Swiss chocolate factory, in which we were able to observe their manufacturing process, and then make our own chocolate samples.
It was delicious and so inspiring!
It was chocolate paradise — the only thing missing was Willy Wonka making a grand appearance.
I always heard that Switzerland has the best chocolate in the world, and after that tour, I’m a believer!
From now on, when I buy chocolate, I’m going to make sure the label reads, “Made in Switzerland” because all of their brands are subtly unique and special, unlike any other chocolate in the world.
Like Swiss chocolate, God purposefully created us to become a unique brand, to be famous in our world of influence, as we express our creative uniqueness and purpose.
Exporting Our Creative Brand To Others
While ministering at one of the churches in Switzerland, I found out that the pastor was an artist, but had never viewed his art as something worthwhile for others. While his paintings were hung throughout his home, he had never painted in his church, or thought they could impact others as well as his family.
I shared several testimonies about people transformed through my art, and explained how his creative gifts could be used to touch others.
So the following night, he painted during worship and gave it to someone from the congregation who needed physical healing, along with others who were in pain.
Amazingly, so many people were healed as they looked at his painting.
God always wants to use our creativity to supernaturally encourage and help others.
When the Children of Israel were murmuring against Moses’ leadership in Numbers 21, serpents were sent who were biting the Israelites and as a result they were dying.
As an antidote, God tells Moses to create a bronze serpent and hold it up for all of the people to see. Whenever the Israelites looked at the serpent, they were healed and didn’t die.
Just like Moses and this pastor, when we create for the glory of God, it will have an impact on others for healing, prophetic ministry, and for transformation. We just need to export it to others.
Breathed Into Our Unique Brand
Just like Swiss chocolate goes through a process before we can enjoy it, man was made through the “ruah” breath of God. This Hebrew word means to “breath, wind, or spirit.” God formed us from the dust of the earth, but then breathed His breath upon us and made us in His unique image (Genesis 1:27).
You are not some ordinary lump of clay, but you carry the breath and brand of Creator God, being from a Heavenly source — God, Himself.
Not only has God breathed His life into you, He has also made you creatively unique, and is proud of the way you are created.
He has made you with dreams, desires, and gifts because you are His delight. He doesn’t want you to try to fit into someone else’s mold or destiny, but wants you to be proud of the way He has created you.
We know that when the Holy Spirit breathed upon the apostles, His breath transformed their anointing and boldness level to export their message through creative ways.
I want to encourage you that God’s recipe for your creative expression to be released is found in letting God’s presence come upon you as you create.
Like this pastor in Switzerland, as you begin to take risk, activating your creativity, you will see the miraculous revealed through you to those who God has placed in your sphere of influence.
Let the Holy Spirit’s ruah breath fall on what you are creating today, to create your own brand of Kingdom expression.
Believe In Your Unique Creative Brand
Oftentimes, we don’t step into our creative destiny because we don’t trust the creative brand that God has placed within us.
Do you know who first invented chocolate?
It was the Mayans around 350 BC, as they were concocting a drink from the cocoa bean. Who would have thought that these primitive people would invent something that would dictate the taste buds around the world?
In 1879, Rudolphe Lindt, a Swiss, invented the conch, which is a machine that rotates and mixes chocolate to a perfectly smooth consistency.
This discovery revolutionized the way we experience chocolate presently. Today, of course, there are many different brands that boast the ultimate chocolate.
God has always wanted us to walk in the fullness of our creative capacity.
Even when Adam and Eve ventured away from God’s original intent, Jesus came to redeem that which was lost, and empower us to become all God envisioned.
Can we believe that?
What we believe about our creative capacity will determine what we receive and walk in.
Romans 12:2 says:
Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes. (Passion Translation)
What we believe about God and ourselves will determine our value and our future.
You are not ordinary — you are extra-ordinary, made to develop your own brand expression with the uniqueness and creativity of how God made you.
Becoming Your Own Brand
A Cocoa bean is worth nothing until it goes through the process of being ground, blended with other wonderful ingredients like milk and sugar that create the texture and taste of chocolate.
Every time you create, you are potentially developing the perfect recipe for all of the world to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”
As I was doing a workshop on healing through creativity in France, I asked people who had never painted before to partner up and paint something that would convey healing for someone.
So, during worship, two painters who were totally inexperienced and nervous painted together and then called up people who had pain in their legs to look at their painting.
Many people were healed that night, but one person named Raymond was of particular interest because he had a defective 17 chromosome and had a genetic disorder in which he experienced continuous numbness throughout his body. He couldn’t feel his feet or bend down without falling over. He had never jumped or danced before.
Raymond looked at their painting and started to feel tingling in his hands and legs and then he could feel his feet. He began to bend down for the first time, jump, and actually feel his body receive the beginnings of a creative miracle!
How did this happen?
Two people took a risk to release the unique brand of their creation.
God wants to use your specific creative uniqueness that can speak to people who crave the presence and power of God that you are carrying in your innovative expressions.
The next time you eat chocolate, think about the creative Kingdom brand God has made you to be that would satisfy all who partake!
Remember, you are Born to Create!