June 18,2019 Today is my husbands birthday!!! Happy birthday babe!!! We went to a “ Paint and Sip” event yesterday and we both had a great time! We both sat in-front of a blank canvas. Below the easel was a dish with different color paint. On the left hand side was a bowl of water and three different size paint brushes. I looked at the instructor as she explained to us the purpose of the tools they provided. My eyes went immediately to the already completed picture that was painted. I could feel the anxiousness flood over me with thoughts like “ how can I turn this blank canvas into such a beautiful piece of art work” “ I don’t even know how to paint” “ I can’t draw a straight line to save my life”. The thoughts continued but I shook them off and decided to try my best and enjoy the time with my husband. The instructor began by showing us how to make the sky. It was pretty easy all I had to do was use back and forth motions with the paintbrush. Next we did the background, which was even easier and required mixing two different color paints. The hardest task was to make the trees, which would line the horizon in the picture. She showed us an easy technique and I was able to successfully paint things that looked like trees.
I looked over at my husband who was struggling and I showed him the technique she suggested ( he wasn’t looking at her lol). His trees looked completely different from mine and at first I thought they were wrong but I was wrong. By the end of the session we had painted beautiful pictures of a lake setting at night time. There were eight painters in total and we all received the same instructions yet all of our paintings looked different. Each of the paintings were beautiful in their own way. As I looked at the pictures we took yesterday of me holding the painting I can’t believe I actually painted it. The strokes of the paintbrush in my hand created a master piece(maybe not a master piece but you get my drift).
I began thinking about how God must look at us and admire His masterpieces. Always remembering every stroke of His hand that molded us to be who we are today. Unlike me when God saw the blank canvas He never doubted His ability. He didn’t doubt if He could keep you in the palm of His hands. So can I encourage you this morning to stop approaching the canvas with fear. It’s not about what you can do with the paintbrush but what God has already done with it. The picture is already painted–listen to His instructions. Follow His word and your picture will indeed be the masterpiece He intended it to be. Don’t look at the other painters. Yes, their painting is beautiful and so is yours. Each one beautiful within their own right. Each one with different strokes that align with who they are.
The instructor invited us to take a step away from the picture and it’s in the distance the beauty of the horizon shines through. I took a step back and I realized how every mistake that I saw close up made the picture have more character and truth. God looks at our life from His perspective and sees who and what we really are. Take a step back, look at your life through His eyes. Realize that though you’ve made mistakes every mistake adds to the beauty of the painting. When I took the brush to make the moon it wasn’t my intention to mess up but after the mess the beauty shined through. Why? Because my perspective was different. Whose perspective are you holding on to. Imagine if I had let the fear of not knowing how to paint stop me from holding the brushes. I would have never painted a beautiful picture. When we follow God’s instructions our painting will never be a mess because it has purpose and is advised from the original masterpiece He has painted for us!
June 24, 2019 : We can examine our lives and hand pick every flaw, mistake, wrong turn or disappointment we’ve had. We tend to be… Let me speak for myself I am very hard on myself. Growing up I’ve always set goals for myself and thanks be to God, most of the goals I’ve set I was able to accomplish. But this has changed over the last decade. I am no longer in charge of the strokes of brush. God has been my ghost painter and for a person who likes to control her own life it’s scary. That was the fear I encountered as I sat before the blank canvas. I had no idea how I was going to paint such a beautiful picture. In the same manner that I sat before the canvas, I sit before my life not knowing how God is going to do this. I am well aware that what happens depends on one thing : My obedience. If I did not listen to the paint instructor’s directions I would have no direction and a mirage of color but no picture. In life when we do not listen to the instructor’s ( God, Holy Spirit, Jesus) direction we will have all the tools but no purpose or masterpiece. I am realizing how important listening is in this season. Not just listening to hear but listening with the intention to obey. I can be honest and say there were moments where I listened but didn’t obey. That’s where I will pick up, going back to listening with the intentions of being obedient not just to say ” I’ve heard from God”
So if you find your self in a similar predicament, weighed down by fear before the blank canvas remember that the Master Painter has already painted the masterpiece. There is absolutely NO PRESSURE! It’s all in His hands, all you have to do is listen and obey. Just as He prepared Jesus, He is preparing you. He sees you, keep your eyes on Him. He hears you, hear Him. He is here, acknowledge HIm. Then you will have the faith to see that the “Blank” canvas was never blank to begin with, you just couldn’t see what He has prepared for you.
I have purposed in my heart that everything I write, do and say will be centered on the personhood of Jesus Christ and the work He did on the cross. The world has enough inspirational and motivational speakers yet people are still the walking dead. People are still lost with no hope. This proves that motivation and inspiration is not enough.
WE NEED SALVATION.
This is something we CANNOT do for ourselves. Only one person saves and that is Jesus Christ.
So when I think about my life the truth is that it didn’t feel like a blank canvas. When I was old enough to make my own decisions I realized that a lot of BAD things happened in my life and I was left to figure out how to live the life I was given. I had to figure out how to cope with the brokenness, fear, shame, guilt, pain, love, joy, restless and all the other emotions that comes in life. In the midst of trying to put those pieces together, I realized that I COULDN’T. If I was to take all of my experiences and my emotions and put it together I would be an hideous conglomerate of mix matched pieces. But when I came to understand and accept what JESUS did for me on the cross I gave Him all of the pieces.
‘ My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in secret [and] intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery]. Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.’
Psalm 139:15-16 AMPC
He began to take every paint, puzzle piece and part of me and made something beautiful. The truth is WHO we were INTENDED to be already existed because the Word tell us that He knew us before the foundation of the world. The problem is that its hard for us to see WHO God sees when we are blinded by the life we’ve lived. So let’s go back to this idea of a blank canvas… Jesus was a blank canvas.. He stood free of all cares, all baggage, every rejection, and shame… He was focused on doing the will of His Father. After we have truly casted all our cares onto JESUS we can approach life in liberty. It is only then our canvases will be blank and we can begin making paint strokes directed by the hands of the Father.
‘I know that you delight to set your truth deep in my spirit. So come into the hidden places of my heart and teach me wisdom.’ Psalms 51:6
I am reminded of the scripture in Samuel : Obedience is better than sacrifice. We can make as many sacrifices we want with the intention of glorifying God but an obedient life is the greatest response to God’s love we can ever have. An obedient life is yielded, fully submitted and surrendered to God. That includes letting go of all “life experiences” . Yielding the hidden parts of our life, the shame, disappointment, and expectations. The Bible tells us that our sins have been blotted out.. So even though to others around us and sometimes to our selves we still see smears of the past on our canvases by FAITH it is blank! Through Jesus we have an opportunity to start afresh to start over! We can be forgiven when we ask, we can receive strength when we ask. You can start over, it’s not too late, you aren’t too far gone. Grab that paint brush, listen, receive, act and paint!
Thank you for reading, With the Love through Jesus Christ, Nadesha!
‘ I, even I, am He Who blots out and cancels your transgressions, for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.’
Isaiah 43:25 AMPC
But even though he was a wonderful Son, he learned to listen and obey through all his sufferings.”Hebrews 5:8 TPT