The Struggle to Be Known

“The Struggle to be Known” – A 10-chapter devotional series for creatives and those who want to be more creative.

PSALM 139:1-3

1 You have searched me, Lord,
   and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.

The Struggle to be Known

At the core of the human heart, you’ll find a deep longing to be known. 

This profound desire is what spurs our creativity. Art, music, and other forms of self-expression are simply a way of saying, “This is who I am — see me, know me.” Creativity is the soul reaching outward, longing to be revealed. 

Over the years, I’ve heard many people say they lack creativity. I believe that very few people do not exhibit some form of creativity in their lives. Take a moment to let this truth soak in: We are all designed to be creative! While it might be as simple as trying a new ingredient in a recipe, you exhibit many forms of creativity in your daily life. We worship a God who is, at His very core, creative — and since we are all designed and made in His image — we are all most certainly creative.

I was in the third grade when I first became aware of the impact that creativity could have. It was a beautiful Southern spring day, and our class project was to make Easter rabbits out of brown paper grocery bags. The kind of thick paper bag you never see these days. Our teacher had a pattern that we all followed to shape the rabbit’s basic body, and then our assignment was to add personality with such things as cotton balls and construction paper. In the center of the classroom, there was a table piled high with scraps of paper and other materials, and we were given clear instructions: use the scraps to decorate our rabbits, but don’t use any of the new paper in the cabinets that lined the classroom walls. 

Naturally, I couldn’t resist sneaking a full, untouched sheet of black construction paper from a cabinet. As I twisted and turned the paper in my hands, I eventually rolled it into a tube. Suddenly, in my mind, it became a stovepipe hat. It was a light-bulb moment! My rabbit was no longer just a rabbit — it was Abraham Lincoln! Excited, I went to work crafting his suit, tie, beard, and even thick eyebrows from the rough, black paper.

When our teacher awoke, she seemed genuinely delighted by my miniature president. To my surprise, she announced to the class that I had created a “most imaginative and delightful” rabbit. 

I was not a good student, and the attention thrilled me. My classmates gathered around, impressed, though not all of them were happy with my creation. One curly-headed blond boy leaned in and nudged me hard as he whispered, almost as a challenge: “My rabbit is going to be a farmer. I’m even making a garden for him to work with his hoe. It’s going to be better than yours.”

That day etched itself in my memory. I discovered that creativity could emerge from simple play — just twisting a piece of paper in my hands. I also realized that creativity was something people valued, even celebrated, but that it could also stir envy. But what I remember most was a quiet pride. I had made something no one else had thought of, something new that came from inside me. In that moment, by creating a paper grocery bag rabbit with a stovepipe hat, I felt a little more known.

Light-Bulb Moment: Archimedes is credited with experiencing the very first recorded “epiphany,” which today we might call a light-bulb moment. He was a brilliant mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. His sudden insight came while stepping into a bath and noticing how the water level rose and fell with his movement. In that ordinary moment, he discovered the principle of buoyancy — a revelation so thrilling that he reportedly leapt from the tub and ran through the streets shouting, “Eureka!” (“I have found it!”) 

Play is a common thread among creatives. When you are searching for your next great creative discovery, make sure to give yourself the space and time to explore freely, safely isolated from the fear of failure. You need to roam, free range, and you need the latitude to try hundreds of different experiments until you stumble upon that singular, inspired creation. 

We are all called to fashion ourselves after God, who is first and foremost our Creator. It could be strongly argued that creativity is our highest calling. If you feel you are not creative, I challenge you to give yourself permission to play more freely throughout your day. Give yourself permission to fail again and again until inspiration strikes. 

So, it is this very desire to be known that the creative well springs forth from. To be fully known and loved is what the soul needs more than anything. That’s why God goes to such lengths in Psalm 139 to assure us that our longing can be fulfilled in Him. 

The psalmist celebrates a Creator who knows every extraordinarily unique detail about us — our thoughts, movements, words, and even the hidden motives of our hearts. And this knowledge is not distant or abstract but personal, intimate, and beyond human comprehension. Though we may feel parts of our souls remain unspoken or unseen, nothing about us is hidden from Him.

Verse 1 of the Psalm declares, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.” Take note, this isn’t passive knowledge, as if God knows us simply by default because He made us. It is active, intentional, and ongoing. God examines us, not to condemn, but to fathom the depths of our hearts, even more deeply than we understand ourselves. He peers into the depths of our desires and motives with loving attention.

No matter where we are or what circumstances we face, we can be certain of this: we are fully known by our Creator. Such complete knowledge is foreign to us. We can never know another person with the same depth or fullness that God knows us. And we will never be known in this way by anyone but God. This is the intimacy we share with Him, and it can bring with it deep consolation and solace. The God who created us is the one who knows us fully and yet loves us still in spite of our flaws. 

PROBING DEEPER: Before you move on, pause to reflect on what these truths mean for you personally. When did you first become aware of creativity? Can you remember a time when you used creativity to solve a problem or to spark a new way of performing a routine task? Do you have room in your life for playful, creative exploration? Take a few moments to let the knowledge that you are fully known by God soak into your spirit. How does that knowledge make you feel? 

TODAY’S PRAYER:  Creator God, we thank you for the gift of life and the endless creative possibilities that each day brings. Help us be ever mindful of your presence. Give us peace in the acceptance that we are highly known and greatly loved through your intimate presence in our lives. Amen.