The Artist

The Artist God is the artist painting the portrait of our lives; we are the paint and He is the artist. It depends on how we work with Him as He works with us as to the outcome of the portrait. It would be good for us to understand that God is working something in us that is worth far much more than the moment. All that we have encountered thus far and compounded upon all that we will continue to encounter in this life is the brush strokes of God in our lives; yes, God working in us is the artist painting a picture that can only make since after the full picture has been completed. Consequently, there are some strokes upon the canvas of our lives that make no sense at all, but when connected with other strokes; the artist brings together every event both joyful and hurtful to say something, to say what He and He alone can see in us. This is why our destination is not as important as the journey itself. God is not as concerned with what we are trying to accomplish as He is with the process it takes to get us to the other end of it. It is in the process that the relationship with us is cherished and that the journey has its worth. For example, I have never been one with the desire to see the sights to be seen across America; to me, one mountain is no different than another, one city than another or one monument than another. My wife Ramona has been the one with the desire to see these things. Even though I have had no desire to see these things I have enjoyed every mountain, every city, and every monument; simply because, I have enjoyed the journey with Ramona. She has had enough excitement for the both of us. It has been the joy in the relationship that these events have meant anything to me. Her joy became my joy, her excitement over these things has become mine; the journey with her has been more important to me than the objects in the journey. Likewise, the events in our lives are no more different than another to God; it is the process that has taken us through the events that means something to God, it is how the process has affected us that God is moved in His heart. God just wants us; God wants to be with us, He wants to experience us as we experience Him. "Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life" (Psalm 42:7-8). The deep way down inside of God calls for those things that are deep down inside of us. He longs for us to taste the journey, to experience the artist in every stroke; to feel the emotion behind the intention of the heart as the brush reveals what He sees in us. Only God can reveal who we are and make sense of why we are in this life. He is both the author and finisher of our faith. "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:1-2). Pastor Joseph Robinson