Encouragement

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Our life is Art, and God is The Artist.
8/16/11
Katelyn Shear



Have you ever watched an artist paint a picture? On TV or in real time? Maybe you have, maybe you haven't. But if you ever have, you know how it is. Watching the artist sweep their brush this way and that. Watching colors fly. Awe just fills you. And maybe today they're painting a mountain scene. It's already beautiful, and you think that they could just stop there, and sell it as is, or do whatever artists do with their paintings. But just as soon as you think that, they put a big blob of black or an ugly green or something like that, right in the middle of the canvas. And you wonder, “What? Why not just leave it the way it was? It was already perfect. It was stunning, but now you've ruined it!” But as you watch, they turn that ugly blob of whatever color into a beautiful rock or tree or something. And while it was perfect before, it's even more so, now. They give it a few last touches, then announce they're done. And you stand there thinking, “How did they do that? How did they know it wouldn't mess up?” But, you see, the artist knew what they were doing. They knew that, while it looked ugly at first, it would become more beautiful than it ever could have been without it. They knew it seemed horrible and probably like something your two-year old could paint, but they also knew that, in the end, it would be something everybody loved and wanted for their living room wall. That's like God. Our lives are the canvas and He is the artist. Our lives are just fine one way, and we're pretty content. But just as we think our lives couldn't get better, God splashes a big blob of black on it all. And we wonder, “What was wrong with me before? What did I do wrong? Whatever it was, I'm sorry. Just let my life go on like it did before. Please, Lord.” But what we don't realize is that we may not have done anything wrong. And, sure, our lives may have been wonderful and great before. We don't realize its all for our own good. He's doing what's best for us, He's not trying to hurt us or ruin our lives. He just wants to make sure we can amount to all we should be. So we should just surrender our lives to him. Yeah, we may have already gotten saved, but we still want to control our lives. We want things our way. That makes it harder for us to undergo changes that God's making on us. Like that song, “He's still working on me. To make me what I ought to be.” And we're too stubborn to understand He's helping us do what we're supposed to do. So, if we would just quit trying to take control over our lives and start asking Him what He wants us to do, maybe things would go better. But, though while it may seem ugly now and it doesn't look like its going to get better anytime soon, just remember that it will make you more beautiful than ever before. That, though it seems tough, its what's good for you. And its making you stronger than ever. The trial's are only for those who can stand the trial's. God's making you into something wonderful, whether we know it or not. But in the end, we'll see just how beautiful God made us.



~Katie~

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