Seeing fulfillment in your art and pursuing something far greater than self-oriented fame and glory.
If you are in the industry of music, these are the greatest days in history to be alive and creating wonderful sounds to fill the earth. Tsunami's, earthquakes, suicide bombings, and wars could leave you disheartened - however this isn't a time to give up hope in your creative gifts, but a time to believe that you will be elevated and see fulfillment in your art.
There is now an emerging army of creative young people who have a radical, passionate faith in God; with all the modern digital and music tools, they are communicating through their sounds, that there is something far greater to pursue than self-oriented fame and glory. These young people are filling stadiums, large and small auditoriums in cities and nations all over the planet - playing awesome sounds to God the creator of music, giving him absolute glory. 10-15 years ago this was not the norm, but is now increasing in greater measure. This is an elevation of man and woman toward God.
These musicians and singers worship Him, loud, large and relevant, with style, craft, and power - often way beyond in quality, in comparison to what you will see on the likes of MTV, and in popular culture. Some of these Christian events have attracted up to 400,000 people, where many of today's young people pray to God to see their cities and nations changed for the better. Relevant powerful music, that gives glory to the real and living God, is at the center of it all. The reality is - millions of young lives are being changed to live strong, healthy, relevant, and powerful lives for God; lives that go against the tide of immorality, violence, and the drug culture of many societies. This is an elevation of whole cities toward God.
Some of you with no church, or God experience, may have never heard of this. The facts are, that all over the world more and more young people are believing in Jesus Christ - more than at any other time in history - and they are emerging as a powerful creative force in these troubled times on earth. There is great hope for you when you get to know and serve God with your life, and the talents He has put inside of you.
There is a spiritual power in music that has the ability to change peoples lives for greatness. This power can change the atmosphere over cities and nations. This power is the Spirit of God. U2, who are well known for their Christian faith, have a definite 'presence' in their music and acknowledge God's influence in their lives. If you watched the Elevation concert live from Boston there is a marked shift halfway through the concert where Bono takes the audience into another dimension. At the end they worship God, and encourage the audience to be 'elevated' to God in heaven. This is real, and is experienced by many Christians all over the world at even greater levels. Music has a divine power and purpose - these are the days to fully discover what that means. Offer your art to God and see what awesome things can happen in your life.
The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.