Unshackled Moments ~ January 31, 2018 ~ Making Something Out Of Nothing

Making something out of nothing. When you hear or see some variation of this phrase does it strike you as positive or negative? I wonder what it says about me that when I heard it this morning in a positive light the unconscious change in perspective caught me off guard and sent me off on a mental expedition? I was sitting in my study, doing some reading and thinking about those things I try to think about in the mornings, you know things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely. worthy of good report, virtue and praise, things that help bring and keep freedom and a life worth living, things to share with you, Dear Reader.

I suddenly remembered that I have stations on my Pandora that I haven't heard anything off of for a while because I removed them from my shuffle to keep from subjecting Leah to them. When I am going to be listening to my Pandora shuffle with Leah I try not to make her suffer through the country, dance, hip-hop, punk, or Spanish stations. It's easier to leave it that way than to adjust the shuffle list every time. This morning I thought about going back to the full list and hearing some music that I hadn't heard in a while. I really thought this to be simply a random thought, but, now, I believe it was the guidance of the Spirit. Within a few minutes of changing the stations up, a Christian Hip-hop song I had never heard before by Andy Mineo came on. The song is called, Ex Nihilo, which is a Latin phrase that means out of nothing.

I shared it with a friend of mine who loves hip-hop and went back to my reading, or, at least, I tried to. It didn't so much work that way, because the lyrics kept grabbing me and sending my mind off on tangents. One of these wanderings was about how I had taken the phrase making something out of nothing as a negative idea along the lines of making a mountain out of a mole hill. I realized that to me it had a connotation of causing contention, strife and even violence over nothing that was truly worth fighting over. Maybe it comes from seven and a half years of incarceration where violence could erupt around you at any time over, well, nothing much at all. It struck me as odd and awesome to have this phrase used in a positive way.

The two lines from the first verse of the song that grabbed my attention and inspired me to think, really think, about making something out of nothing this morning were,

It's amazing

The most beautiful pieces of art come from the ugliest situations.....

I am not the artist, I'm the canvas that He's painting...

So, I set aside the devotion I had been trying to read, and Google and I went off across the web to see how it used by others. That's when I began to see that much, if not most, of the world uses the phrase in a positive way, as in to take nothing or very little and make something good, or even great. It is the foundation of many a success story. There are tons of DIY projects. I even regularly praise Leah for being able to make something great out of very little with her cooking. The trail led to an article from 2013 by David Gussak, Art on Trial Making Something Out of Nothing How art can reestablish self-identity for prison inmates, and why bother?

I read the article about using art in the prison system to help counter some of the negative results of incarceration. It began with a quote:

“The statement ‘I am an artist’ is a powerful counterweight to the negative associations of ‘I am a criminal’ or ‘I am a prisoner.’”

- Thompson, 2003.

And here I had finally come full circle. I see the truth from the article about the damage incarceration and objectifying prisoners can do. I have lived it. I also know that this type of destruction isn't confined to prisons or prisoners. So many of the messed up, broken and captive have had all sense of significance, self-worth and value torn apart until they feel worthless. How many of the walking wounded in society see themselves as nothing or worth nothing? I  know I did, and it's a fight I still fight from time to time.

It does counter that voice of valuelessness to be able to say, yes, I once was this, but now I am this. I am a productive member of society. I am an artist. I am clean and sober. I am a counselor. I am a mentor. I am something positive and am no longer what and who I once was. But what struck me between the song that started this and the secular article that ended it was the juxtaposition between the power in the two statements. I am an artist countering the statement I am a convict, verses the statement I am not the artist, I am the canvas.

We can do things to raise our self-esteem and sense of worth, but as long as the source is our power and from our ability and achievements it will fall short. We will never be able to silence that voice that says who are you trying to kid? You are nothing. You are not enough. You will always be trash, an addict, a felon, a whore, a... Because we are powerless to truly change and transform who we are. But God is the Master Artist who can truly make something beautiful from the ashes of our lives. He can take what we see as nothing, the mess we have made of ourselves and make something great and glorious. He longs to do it actually.  He declares that we do indeed have value, great value. He says we are fearfully and wonderfully made, worth dying for. He loves us as we are, not as we should be, but He loves us enough not to leave us the mess we are. He has promised to turn our mourning into gladness and to give us a life worth living that overflows into the lives of others. In short, He makes something beautiful and holy and righteous out of our nothingness, if we will only let Him.

This site is free. If this blessed, helped and or informed you, the best thing you can do is pass it on via the social buttons below. And please subscribe or follow Unshackled Life Ministries on Facebook.

Unshackled Life Ministries is grateful for every person that reads the daily Unshackled Moments, the weekly Unshackled Echo and or listens to the Audio Messages. I want to thank those who have clicked "like" on something that blessed or ministered to them on social media, commented on the blog or replied to an email subscription. It is encouraging to know that God is using this ministry to help and bless others. Please remember that if God used something from this ministry to help, encourage or bless you, it could also bless someone else. Would you help get the devotions and sermons to more people by sharing this? Hitting the share button or forwarding this to a friend will help us reach more people with the good news of freedom and the encouragement to live an Unshackled Life. Thank you and God bless.