God's Timing for Creatives: How To Determine Your Next Move

How do you know you're following God's timing for your creative life, and not your own? 

It can be incredibly scary and frustrating for a faith-focused creative to feel uncertain about God's will and timing - but there are clues that can help you determine when it's the right season to make a big move. 

In this Creative Checkup episode, host Allen C. Paul shares his own experience of looking to God for the right timing and explains how those lessons can apply to your own life - especially when it's hard to determine what's best. 

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Transcript

Have you ever wondered if it's the right time for you to make that move, that creative move in your life, that big project, that big idea, and you kind of question if God is really leading you, or are you leading yourself, and just letting that voice in your head tell you it's the right time to move? My friend, I'm going to help you with this God's timing versus our timing situation in your creative life in this creative checkup episode of the God and Geek Show. Give me just a moment to welcome those of you who are new to our show. And then we're going to get right into this extremely important conversation. Hello and welcome to our show. Thank you so much for making this podcast a part of your creative day. 
And if you're new to our show, thank you so much for giving us a chance. Let me tell you why you're in the right place at the right time. You see, as a faith-focused creative, musician, freelancer, artist, anyone in that space between faith, ministry, entertainment... and entrepreneurship, you need a tribe, people that understand that you want to grow in your spiritual life, but also thrive in your creative life. That's why we've done this podcast to help you to transform your creative life from the inside out by applying timeless spiritual principles to the temporary creative problems that you might be facing. My name is Alan. I'm your host and the founder of this platform, and I'm glad you found us. Please like, subscribe, and 
and stay connected to this channel so that you can get more encouragement that will help you thrive in your everyday creative life. Now, one of those things that we are all dealing with is the question of when. When to move? When is it God's timing for us to take that big step, that big creative leap? And when is it time for us to wait? What time is the right time? Now, I've had to face this in my own life, even in the very creation of this platform, God and Gigs. You see, 15 years ago as I'm recording this, I had to make a decision whether to follow what I believed was God's timing or wait for my own timing. And the situation was literally walking away from the only particular ministry I had known at that time and starting afresh. 
Well, 15 years later, I can tell you that was God's timing. Why? Because I can see the fruit. I can see this very platform that I'm speaking on to you right now. I can see how God moved in my creative life, my family. how all of that made sense. But at the time, I was confused and i wasn't confident, but i was convicted. And that's the first thing i want you to think about when it comes down to god's timing versus your timing. Our timing can feel right, it can seem right, but god's timing has a conviction with it. God's timing really does push us in a certain direction. And usually, this is not for everybody, but usually it pushes you in the way 
that demands more faith. Now that doesn't mean that waiting demands more faith or staying demands more faith or taking that leap of faith demands more faith. What matters is, are you listening for God's conviction in how he's moving at that specific time in that idea that you have? In my case, it was clear. While it wasn't confidence, it was conviction and I made that move and my creative life now is because I trusted God's timing. But what about you? How do you know when it's God's timing versus your timing? Is it always a question of God speaking in an audible voice? I don't think so. That did happen for me, but that may not happen for everybody. But I do think what you can think about is that question of where is your faith more tested? 
And if it's going to be in that step toward that big project, that big album that you want to record, or that... event you want to create or that painting you want to paint. And you're thinking, well, it's easier to stay still. Well, most likely God is never going to lead you in the way that makes it easier for you to trust him. It's probably going to be something that's going to make it a little tougher, but also be so much more beneficial to you, especially in your creative life when it comes to digging down deep into something that he has prepared inside you. But you're what it is, to figure out what it is. And so I would question you, are you really trusting God the most in one area or the other? 
Which area are you trusting God in his timing the most? That's the area most likely that you should move in, especially in your creative life. Because as I found out, so much more was on the other side of trusting God and that obedience with his timing, even when it didn't feel like it was the right time, convenient, or that it even made any sense at all. And I want to leave you with just one idea that really helped me with this whole idea of when to show up and when I'm going to arrive with this creative destination, this idea, this completion of this thought process. Where am I going to end up? How is it going to work out? Is this the wrong time? 
Is it just my timing and I'm messing it up? Well, you all know about GPS. We all have a GPS now, whether it's Waze or Apple Maps or Google Maps. And all of us have seen that number that pops up, that time that shows up when we will arrive. Well, I've become very frustrated, like most of us, when I run into a traffic jam and I'm like, why would you take me into the traffic jam? Why didn't this GPS system see the delay, avoid the delay, and take me around it? Well, as you probably can guess, and we all know this, the GPS has already figured in the fastest way to get there, the best way to get there. The GPS has already figured in the delays, has already figured in all the different twists and turns that you can take. 
In your creative life, God has already figured in the delays. He's already figured in where you can accelerate. His timing is perfect because He knows when and where to move you in those areas. So my question to you is, are you trusting Him? Are you asking Him? Even in those areas that you really want to do something creative or special or new, are you asking him for his timing? Because he's figured in if it's a wait. He's figured in if it's a go. He's figured in the red lights, the yellow lights, and the green lights to your final destination of creative fulfillment in him. So make sure that you're trying your best to ask him for wisdom, as James says, because he says he never holds back on wisdom. 
I believe that's what's helped me. as I become more of a musician, a better father, a better husband, a better creative, because I trusted God's timing. And it's honestly why God and gigs even exist. So I trust that you'll do the same. I encourage you to let us know if there's a certain particular area that you're working on or trying to find God's favorite or what he's actually telling you to do and kind of discern his will. Well, I'm not here to tell you what it is, but I can direct you to our community. that will help you figure that out. We have our free Facebook group. We have our Guiding Geeks 360 membership. And of course, we have this very podcast where you can text us if you're on the podcast app right now. 
Hit that little button that says send a text and let us know what you're dealing with because connecting with others will help you find the clarity that you seek. My friend, thank you so much for listening and watching. And until next time, continue to become the creative that you were created to be. God bless, and I'll see you next episode. My friend, thank you for watching this episode. If that blessed you, you got to make sure that you stay connected with this community and this channel so that you can get more where that came from. We're sharing great interviews, tactics, strategies, mindsets, lifestyle choices. Everything is going to help you become a totally confident creative. And don't miss an episode of the God and Gig Show. 
If you are staying connected to our channel, you'll be able to find us anytime we release new episodes. And you can check out some of our archives of almost 200 episodes now that we've shared over the last few years. Make sure you check out one of the suggestions right now because it's probably perfect for you to continue to develop as a creative and continue to stay connected with us because we're here to help you become the creative that God created you to be. We'll see you in the next episode.