The Lie of Survival: Why God Created You to Flourish, Not Just Get By

 Right now, I’m a father of two kids and both my wife and I are artists. We are not ignorant to the fact that it’s hard to sustain a comfortable and secure quality of life. Especially in today's economy, the phrase “starving artists” can get really real for us. But one thing we refuse to believe is that we were meant to live this life to survive. If we believed that, we would have already lost because one way or another, death is inevitable. Instead, we whole-heartedly believe that we were all meant to flourish in life and the creativity we inherently received by being made in the likeness of God himself. 

While carrying this specific conviction against the lie of survival, the journey has not been easy. For starters, being both artists, Hannah and I already don’t have promising career paths ahead of us. I’m an actor and my wife is a painter. The markets we’re involved in aren’t necessarily in high demand and while responsibilities increase so must our creative solutions. But this is where the rubber meets the road because there is a dividing line between creating solutions that are based on survival or those that are based on trust and connection with God. Hannah and I have experienced both.

We went on a journey of unraveling from the very fear/beliefs that kept us in survival. There have most certainly been times where we have panicked and made impulsive decisions out of fear to survive. One of those decisions I made was to start a personal training business. I invested time and money to get certified, get bare-minimum equipment and give out free sessions to get the ball rolling. Within months of launching, I quickly realized the amount of work it would take to perfect the craft of a successful personal training business did not align with the passions I believe God gave me to steward. The same happened when I tried to start a business selling an MRR digital marketing course. Both decisions, as well as a few others, were made under the fear of financial pressures around me and disconnected from the heart of God.

 I want to make this clear here that this is not to say you can’t ever do things outside of your passions. You will in fact work jobs or start businesses that are means to an end- they are in support of what you believe God has created you to do. Could those businesses I tried starting become successful and bring us into financial freedom? Of course, if I worked hard on them, I believe they would have. But the distinction I'm wanting to draw here is that I made those business choices based on fear and survival and this was something God was patiently unraveling me from. The emphasis is less on doing the thing or not doing the thing but it is on the place you are doing it from- trust and connection? or fear and survival? What if I fully trusted God and believed I already had everything I needed in Him? What choices would I make based on that alone without any ounce of fear? The choices were vastly different in this realm of thinking.

When I’m not wound up in fear and trying to white-knuckle my way to freedom, I become very connected to who I am and what makes me actually come alive. Furthermore, contrary to the mind of survival, I found that these passions are fully connected with the heart of God who purposed them for the service to others. Crafting an epic story with a profound message of truth like Jesus did with parables has become the undeniable passion of my heart. Seeing these stories impact hearts towards the truth and beauty of Jesus is the glory I see within them and I want nothing but to be a part of it. 

It is in this realm that has become my conviction and is indeed the kingdom first mindset. There is a reason why Jesus tells us not to worry about our needs and to seek His kingdom first. It is the world's standard to have it reversed and to strive only to survive. What lie it is to fend for yourself out of fear to survive and to consider your unique God-given passions as selfish. Is God a liar to not provide for your needs? Nevertheless, when financial pressures do arise, hold your passions higher and ask God for the wisdom to carry them out. He will provide the creative solutions and resources necessary to steward your God-given dreams/passions well. It may look different through the seasons but as children of God we must never give in to the lie of survival. Remain in alignment with who you are as a creative being.

With a God-fearing heart, be diligent to discover what He’s placed in you, tend to them and watch them flourish in profound creativity.