Who Am I Becoming

As creatives, it’s so natural for us to focus on what we do. Because it’s easy to grade and keep score. It’s visible and obvious. It’s reputation and appearance. It’s what other people think. It’s how I get affirmation, validation and appreciation.

Who I am becoming (my inner world) often becomes a secondary or forgotten pursuit, because it does not attract applause or attention. To this day, no one has ever told me what a nice soul I have! But if I can accomplish things in my physical, visible world, it’ll help me feel better about myself.

Dallas Willard said it like this: “The most important thing in your life is not what you do; it’s who you become. That’s what you will take into eternity. You are an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe. You think you have to be someplace else or accomplish something more to find peace. But it’s right here. God has yet to bless anyone except where they actually are.”

This is so important for us as creatives, because it’s not what you do that determines who you are. It’s who you are that determines what you do.

Jesus said in John 4:23 “But the hour is coming and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

Notice that the Father is not looking for worship, He’s looking for worshippers. But remember, it’s not what you do that determines who you are. In other words, you’re not a worshipper because you’re on a worship team. It’s who you are that determines what you do. So, because you’re a worshipper, you worship.

Think about it like this: how does God introduce himself to us in His Word, right back there in Genesis chapter 1? Now this is a big deal. It’s God’s Word. His living, breathing, written Word by which He is going to show us Who He is. And He begins His manifesto with, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

Now imagine if it had been written: “In the beginning, the heavens and the earth were created by God...” It’s a subtle change, but all of a sudden, the focus of attention shifts from the Creator to the created. And the visible creation defines the invisible Creator.

We do this so often as creative people: we determine and define ourselves based on what we create. We judge ourselves on the supposed value, worth and attention that our creation or creativeness attracts.

But God wasn’t a Creator because He created the heavens and the earth. He was a Creator, and so He created. He couldn’t help but create.

This is why it’s so important for us to stop focusing on “what am I doing?” – the externals, the visible, the positions, the titles, the accolades and the applause, and we start focusing on the internals – the wellness of our souls, and becoming the person that God has created us to be. Only then can we be the ‘Spirit and truth’ worshippers for whom the Father is seeking.


About the Author

Joel is a Worship leader and Pastor From Neuma Church in Melbourne Victoria.