“Creativity” has become a popular buzzword in recent years. There is no shortage of books, articles, and seminars designed to boost your creativity and help you think differently. No doubt, as leaders, we all crave an extra dose of creativity as we tackle complex problems and search for new ideas.

I recently read an article about the traits of creative people, and I was struck by how the list reflected what I know to be true of God. Three particular traits stood out to me:

• The ability to extract order from chaos
• Unconventionality
• A willingness to take risks

Extracting Order from Chaos

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep” (Gen. 1:1-2, ESV).

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We don’t have to look any further than the first few verses of Genesis to see God at work, bringing order to chaos. God saw beauty and potential when He looked at the formless, dark, and empty earth before creation. Similarly, God sees beauty and potential when he looks at the chaos in our hearts, ready to begin His great work in us (Ezekiel 36:26; Philippians 1:6).

Unconventionality
Is there anything conventional about God’s ways? Not at all. God even tells us Himself: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8). Whether it’s through a burning bush (Exodus 3) or a talking donkey (Numbers 22:21-41), God uses the most unconventional methods to get our attention and communicate His message to us.

Taking Risks
God is the ultimate risk-taker because He has chosen Love, the greatest risk of all. God could have pre-programmed humanity to respond to His love, but instead He chose to give us free will. He wants us to choose His love. Whenever we show our love for someone, there is always a risk that our love will not be returned. God chooses that risk every day.

Are you seeking to build more creativity into your life? Imitate our Maker, the God of Creativity. Find ways to extract order from the chaos of your life. Don’t be afraid to be unconventional or to take risks. The creative spark is a Divine spark. Allow it to ignite a fire inside of you.

Sitting in a hospital waiting room, I watched as my husband grew antsy as several others who made their appearance later than him were called into various rooms before him. Waiting is difficult for nearly everyone for I think when God was handing out patience there were just too many of us far too antsy to wait in the line.

And I watched as my husband grew weaker and weaker as each moment passed. His health was slowly making its descent into crisis mode. Most unusual for a man content to take a nap and call it a day if anything was unwell or out of order in his world.

Too tired and sore to move, my better half looked helpless and I realized in the moment that all I could do was pray. Skipping out on a medical degree has proven me no favours. All I had was prayer in my heart and a Diet Coke in my pocket. I secretly wondered if the medical staff was judging me for the latter.
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When his name was finally called I released a sigh of gratitude erring on the side of God’s sovereignty. Yes, it is hard on the human soul when we are made to wait.

Philippians 4:6, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

What is hard about it is the allotment of time seemingly handed over to the enemy of our soul. He is a time thief stealing, killing, and destroying. What I find most often is that he uses our precious time to perform for us his art of distraction. Always the button pusher, that enemy of ours likes to point out what God may be withholding from us… not what He may be safeguarding us from.

We all wait. Moses waited. Joshua waited. Paul waited for his sentencing and possible death as he was imprisoned and wrote the deeply profound epistle to the church of Philippi. And Jesus waited. Yes, Jesus waited. For much and often, He waited. Because no matter how much we are distracted, no matter how urgent we believe the need, there is an appointed time for every and all situations. And we as Christ followers sometimes need to be reminded that we shouldn’t let the enemy steal our moments. In prayer and petition we need to take our requests to God while we are in the waiting room.

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For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

The odds were not stacked in her favour. As an orphaned, exiled, young and secretly Jewish female, she faced daunting obstacles to her confidence, culture and sense of allegiance. Nevertheless, a chance win of a national beauty contest had thrust upon her the prestigious yet precarious title of Queen. She need only consider her predecessor’s fate to recognize the limits to her influence and the high cost of disfavour attached to her royal position.

It would have been easy for Esther to ignore or dismiss her husband’s executive orders – orders that were rooted in his prime minister’s jealousy and steeped in hatred, bigotry, arrogance and injustice. The proposed genocide threatened to annihilate generations, creating national terror, chaos and confusion as the unmerited ethnic cleansing played itself out.
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But still, even as she learned the details of her husband’s astonishing edict, the known vulnerabilities inherent in her spousal, legal, royal, religious, cultural and gender status tempted her to huddle in silent, self-protective helplessness. After all, she reasoned, the orders didn’t necessarily impact her directly. If she simply kept her head down and focused on her daily duties, surely she would be spared this great injustice…

Thankfully Queen Esther received and acted on wise counsel. She was reminded that eventually these orders could and would not only jeopardize her family, her religion and her race, but also her own life. Doing nothing was not an option. Her eventual decision to stand up. speak up and speak out against injustice changed world history and shaped her people’s destiny.

As leaders who are Christ-followers we are being bombarded by lawless policies, false ideologies, misguided directives and “alternative facts” that threaten the foundation of our religious theology, social responsibilities and ethical sensibilities. We too may be inclined to huddle in silent, self-protective helplessness, shocked and speechless while injustices erode the very fabric of our countries, our corporations, our churches, our communities, and our constitutions. We may be tempted to believe that we need not concern ourselves with these matters as they do not impact us directly. But as Mordecai warned, ultimately there is a very real and personal price that must be paid.

Centuries later Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, an American Baptist minister who became a leader in the American Civil Rights movement, echoed the advice of Mordecai as he cautioned:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Beloved, God has called you to your position of leadership precisely “for such a time as this”. Her legendary courage, wisdom, grace, patience and strategic thinking are the very same traits needed in Christ-followers who have been entrusted with leadership today. Even though the odds may appear to be stacked against you, God may be calling you to hold a banquet, a banner, a stranger or a child as part of your stance for social justice. In light of the times, I urge you to commit to spending focused and consistent time praying, fasting, and seeking God’s unique instructions to you so that in these days of uncertainty you can live, lead and love from a sure place of justice.