A Painter’s Process
Imagine with me again that your life is like a canvas. God is the artist that paints the picture of your life. The analogy is apt, for just as our life is a process, paintings require a process to produce. Let’s focus on oil paintings.
When oil painting the artist will use multiple layers to bring the painting to the point of being ready to be unveiled. It’s the kind of work that takes a great deal of patience. Many times I have noticed God working on our lives in “layers,” either adding or removing them depending on the situation.
Image of oil painting from freeparking on Flickr
As an example, we recently had a “watch-night” service in which God changed something in me — but I didn’t know what He had done. I just let the Artist paint me the way he saw fit.
It is beautiful when we allow the Artist to paint the layers of our life even though we are unsure or unable to comprehend what he is doing. This is where trust comes into play. We must be willing to trust that God knows what he’s doing even if we don’t understand what the process is doing in us.
My own experience with art class was brief, but I did notice that the base layer of the painting was not always the same as what came out in the end. The beginning was only one of the layers to the masterpiece.
Layers may be a situation or circumstance that God allows into our lives. They’re not always what we want, but He is making a masterpiece. You may not like the layer the Master Painter is adding right now, but I implore you to let Him finish. The Artist knows what He intends to create. Trust God with the layers He is adding to your life, and in the end it will be something beautiful.
Have you noticed the layers God puts in your life? Has He given you “beauty for ashes” (Isaiah 61:3) on the way? What does it mean for your attitude? Tell us your story in the comments.
It’s a truth that what we see right now is not the end of our lives. We don’t know yet everything that God will do, which is both wonderful and frightening.
I really like what you said about layers. true its not always fun, and sometimes it doesn’t seem to fit. That’s one reason why its so important to keep the Godly voices in your life. To keep perspective