I’ve been working my way through a great book on creativity entitled The Creative Call, by Janice Elsheimer. In it, she includes a variety of exercises to help artists of all types confront and conquer their fears.

One such exercise listed common statements of discouragement which artists must combat, such as “Nobody will take your art seriously,” or “You’ll never make a living doing that.” In the book, she then asks the reader to come up with statements to contradict those negative assertions.

The one that really caught my attention was this: “You don’t have enough talent to be a successful writer.” My first impulse was to argue that I’m as talented as the next person. Certainly more talented than some whose work I’ve seen in print.

But that wasn’t the direction God lead me when I searched my heart regarding how to respond. Instead, here’s what I wrote, “God says that His strength is made perfect in my weakness. A lack of talent can’t stand in God’s way. Only a lack of faith can do that.”

So, in the coming year I’m striving to offer my talents to God, such as they are, believing by faith that He can accomplish whatever He wants to with them, and with me.