For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Ephesians 2:10

Each moment we live is the brushstroke of an Artist…the Master. We can choose in disobedience to try to paint over our moments with a different color or brushstroke, but ultimately, it is He who controls the final masterpiece, gently stroking over our waywardness with the beauty of mercy and grace.

Sometimes, when I see what the Master is doing up close, I get excited about the colors He is using. But let me be real… Other times, I shudder, not liking the drab colors of the desert wilderness. My tendency is to start painting for myself on another part of my canvas. Or to even paint over the same section with prettier colors because I have such detestation for the colors God chooses for a particular season. I much prefer the happy colors of a sunset or a rainbow to the browns and greys that often mark my life in seasons of trial or sorrow.  I quickly try to change the palette even though I know in any great piece of artwork those colors are necessary for the beauty that comes from the shadowing.  Ahh, the shadowing. I pause to consider it and realize that’s the comfort I’ve felt in those seasons. I was being sheltered in the shadow of His wings, which was far more responsible for the darker colors than the trial itself. I just couldn’t see it at the time. But then, with the final stroke of His brush over a season, I am able to step back and behold what He was doing and only then do I see why those colors were absolutely necessary in His masterpiece and required for that portion to have the complete perfection that can only come when He is present, sheltering, comforting, holding, and guiding.

But trying to change the color palate is not all I fail to see clearly for what it is.  I also have been known to move in a direction opposite the brush strokes. What does my response have to do with what He is ultimately doing if the strokes and finished masterpiece are all in His hand? I have to realize that He won’t move to another part of painting me into His image until one part has been completed. What I do with each moment either submits to the Master’s hand or moves against it, creating a smudge that must be redone. Every act of turning from Him creates a smear and every act of blatant disobedience, or sin, paints me with colors of the world, never intended for His masterpiece in me. And yet, He so tirelessly paints new strokes to cover my sin nature over and over again. He keeps painting and repainting, beaconing me to be still. When I learn to ‘be still and know that He is God’ within any moment and remain still with His right hand in mine, allowing myself to simply be moved with the stroke, the miracle occurs, and a bit more of His sanctified image can be seen. And as I am still, I feel His breath and realize this is part of the drying process. I especially embrace this in those hard dark seasons, because in the drying, even the tears dissipate. It seems I learn this lesson over and over as I experience Him and His unfinished work in me again and again.

As Christ-Followers, we are called to be still before the Lord in His presence, not striving to be our own masterpiece creator (Psa 46:10). Only He who placed the first brushstroke on the masterpiece in our mother’s womb is able to hold the brush and finish what He has started to complete perfection (1 Thes 5:23-24). Just as we wouldn’t allow a toddler to fingerpaint on top of a priceless Rembrandt, we must guard against doing the same in our spiritual lives. We must keep our hands clean (no fingerpaints allowed) to stand in the Holy place where God is doing His best work in us (Psa 24:3-4). We must trust that the darkness is just for a night while we are being sheltered (Psa 91:1-4) and that with each new day comes beautiful new strokes of His love and mercy that faithfully cover over any smudges we have created (Lam 3:22-23). We should allow Him to choose the colors and paint the brushstrokes, trusting that only He knows what is absolutely best for us. Finally, we should continue in a posture of stillness as He gently blows on His masterpiece, remembering that this is part of the creation process as He did when He created His first image in Adam and brought him to life (Gen 2:7) and later with that same breath would breathe the Holy Spirit into His disciples at the point of their calling (John 20:22). And just as He did this each of them, He is currently doing this for each of His children in the masterpiece He is creating. We are all simply an unfinished portrait of Christ individually created as part of His eternal plan. Trust God with the colors of your season and in each and every brushstroke, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will see it through to completion. And if you have a tendency like me to try to take over a particularly challenging area of your life, remember the Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:14).  Be still so that one day soon you’ll be able to step back and behold the fact that each stroke and each color had a great purpose in your life, even…and perhaps especially the shadows.