Following the Star

Pause

In the stillness, in the silence, hope in God.

What do your eyes wait to see?
What does your heart ache to hold?
Where do your feet yearn to walk?

In the stillness, in the silence, hope in God.

Listen

God will judge between the nations, and settle disputes of mighty nations. Then they will beat their swords into iron plows and their spears into pruning tools. Nation will not take up sword against nation; they will no longer learn how to make war.

Come, house of Jacob, let’s walk by the Lord’s light.

Isaiah 2:4-5

Think

“Look at my pirate ship!”

“Don’t step on my cape!”

My kids possess an uncanny ability to transform things like boxes and scarves into stuff that entertains them for hours. As their imaginations creatively expand the function of things, what seems worthy of the recycling bin or the donation box finds new life.

Isaiah’s vision of the nations streaming up to Jerusalem expands. Nations who used weapons of war to beat down enemies now beat those same weapons into tools for cultivating life. Swords and spears are reclaimed and repurposed. Creativity shapes the process of transformation in powerful ways. You might say embracing a vision of hope like Isaiah’s requires creativity.

Most people think they aren’t creative because they aren’t artistic. But each one of us bears the image of our creative God. We have the capacity to see and think creatively when fear threatens to steal our hope. We can reclaim and repurpose words, patterns, and systems from tools of oppression into tools that liberate. How will creativity help you embrace hope today?

Jennie Barber

Pray

Creative and creating God, thank you for calling and equipping me to join in the work of bringing hope. Strengthen me to see, think, and feel with bold imagination. Amen.

Go

Watch with hope.

See today with God’s vision: catch glimmers of goodness and beauty.

Embrace today with Christ’s compassion: let others know they are deeply loved.

Walk today with the Spirit’s boldness: sing, create, serve, and play.