Footprints in the Sand

Footprints in the Sand
Acrylic on Canvas
6" x 8"
30/07/15
40 mins
Given to a dear colleague

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28 NIV), for "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." (Jeremiah 31:25 NIV)

I painted this picture for a dear colleague, adapted from an image I sourced online, because I knew this was one of her favorite stories, and I sincerely wished to point her to God's love and motivate her during a particularly busy and difficult period at work. She has been so simply amazing, and I really wanted her to know how much we appreciate and cherish her. We are often so weary and burdened in our various callings in life - so many things demand our energies and the competing demands make coping with our workload appear impossible. I remember when I was a junior, quietly shouldering as much as I could to help as many of my colleagues as I was able, until I realized that I was unable to cope because work never stopped coming and my phone never stopped ringing. I was not a Christian then, and I had relied fully on my own strength. That was when I realized that my own abilities could be insufficient, and as I struggled, my Christian mentor had prayed with me and passed me a card setting out the story of "Footprints in the Sand", the beautiful poem from which this picture originated as follows:

"One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You'd walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

there was only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

Never, ever, during your trials and testings.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."" 

   - By Mary Stevenson

At that time, as a non Christian, I did not fully understand the impact of this message. As I refused to surrender my difficulties to God, I was unable to rest in His arms or feel His support. In fact, I suspect that if I were able to view my footprints then, I would see footprints resulting from a stubborn struggle - God reaching out to me, and me pushing Him away. No wonder I felt so troubled and exhausted then!

But now, as I am more mature in my faith, I realize how blessed I am to be able to appreciate this message and to have a loving God who would walk with me throughout all of my life and carry me in the difficult moments. The ability to rest in sweet surrender in His arms in my difficult periods has been one of the most beautiful parts of my Christian journey. And indeed, why is there a need to be afraid of anything? For "In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" (Psalms 56:4 NIV) And it is true, for when our eyes are on God and not on merely pleasing men and obtaining things of this world, do we realize that we own a priceless treasure that no man can ever take away.

"So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?"" (Hebrews 13:6 NIV)

Trusting in God

Trusting in God
Acrylic on canvas
6" x 8"
29/07/15
40 minutes
Given to a close friend

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)
 

I was asked by a close friend of mine to paint this picture for her when I shared this image with her at church. The original artist is unknown, but the picture has received attention online and has since been circulating in Christian communities.

This picture struck a chord in me. In this image, Jesus is seen bending down to speak to the little girl and to directly reach out to her and seek her trust. He has no ill intentions - He carries a huge teddy bear, indicating His greater plans. The little girl is fully aware that Jesus is God ("But I love it, God"), yet is struggling to surrender her toy to Him because she loves it too much.

I see myself as the little girl, being overly attached to material things, desperately clinging on to the tiny teddy bear representing my worldly treasures and possessions, unable to fathom the greatness of the Lord and His huge teddy bear representing the larger heavenly treasures that He has in store for those who fully love and trust in Him. Sometimes I find myself pushing Him away even when He directly reaches out to me. I find myself unable to let go of something that is tangible and securely in my hands, to replace it with something which is intangible, or which I cannot immediately hold.

Yet this is short-sighted, for the Bible tells us "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21 NIV)

This verse warns us of the love of earthly things, which would perish over time, but urges us to focus on things that are eternal, such as the treasures in heaven. It tells us to keep our heart on God, so that we are able to build our happiness on a more lasting and noble foundation, and to keep our heart and souls completely pure, for "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?" (Matthew 16:26 NIV).

In addition, we have no reason to doubt God's goodness or plans for us. "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)  "What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (Luke 11:11-13 ESV)

So this picture reminds me to continue to fully trust in the Lord, even in things that I cannot understand, and seek Him in all things, so that He may set my paths straight towards Him and away from the love of tangible material things. For He is good and knows what is best for me. I will seek Him unceasingly, I will keep on knocking on His door, so that the wonders of His heavenly treasures will be open to me and within my reach!

 

Jacob Wrestles With God

My very first piece is a depiction of Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis 32:22-32. I did an artistic impression of a painting by Eugene Delacroix (1861), and here is the result:

Jacob Wrestles with God 
Acrylic on Canvas
30" x 40"
25/07/15
8 hours

Slightly different angle, taken in the morning

Illustrating the full size of the painting

I've always found this story both intriguing and inspiring. Jacob was an interesting character in the bible, and he always stood out to me. He was flawed - deceitful, manipulative, overly infatuated by beauty (i.e. Rachel), self-reliant - yet very much loved by God, the way God loves all of His children. This story marked a change in Jacob's life, a shift from stubborn self-reliance to determined and persistent reliance on God, where he had grown from the ambitious deceiver to be renamed as "Israel", the one who is Triumphant with God.

 "The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh.

(Genesis 32:22-32 ESV)"

Jacob was about to meet his brother Esau, whom he had deceived of his father's blessing, causing him to have to flee from his home for many years as Esau was enraged and had wanted to kill him. Jacob was afraid, and very vulnerable. And as he was alone, he met a manifestation of God, whom he battled with until dawn broke. It isn't entirely clear what the nature of this battle was - some commentators view that this was a prayerful struggle, others view that it could have been an actual battle. Nonetheless, it was in this event that Jacob confronted all of his life failures, his weaknesses and sins, and struggled through all of them with God, wrestling with Him. And in the end, he prevailed by clinging on to God.

From the text, it appeared that God may have initiated the wrestle with Jacob ("and a man wrestled with him"), to bring him to physical and spiritual submission. Jacob continued the battle, and refused to submit ("the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob"), upon which, with a light touch, God caused Jacob's hip to be put out of joint ("he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him"), illustrating His great power. God asked Jacob to let Him go, for the day had broken. However, Jacob clung on to God and refused to let go, even though the day has broken (and he could potentially be killed if he saw God's face in the light), until he had received God's blessing. And it was only after Jacob acknowledged God and His presence in his life, and ceased his struggling but shifted to a persistent clinging and reliance on God, that he received God's blessing.

After the fight, Jacob met Esau, who welcomed him with open arms, and the brothers thereafter reconciled.

The following in particular inspires me in my Christian walk:

• God loves us so much that he will struggle and wrestle with us through the difficulties in our Christian walk 
• God is powerful and strong and mighty (a mere touch of Jacob's hip socket had caused Jacob's hip to go out of joint!), and while we may be inclined to trust in our own abilities, our own strength is so limited compared to His power
• God blesses those who cling on to Him 
• Even though it may sometimes be difficult (and painful - Jacob was injured!) to hold on to God, we should persist
• We should cling on to God desperately and trust fully in Him (instead of our own limited strength which is so easily overcome by God's might) in all areas of our life

When I look back on my life journey, I realize I had for the most part been a flawed self-reliant person who had no heart for Christ. I have struggled and still struggle with God for control over my life, and my deceitful heart always tries to justify my "wrestles" until God deals me a blow that wakes me up. But I want to change that, I want to learn to always cling on to God and rely on Him for all of my life, no matter how difficult it may appear. I want to persist in my walk with God, not just for one night, but for the entire journey.

And this story inspires me to do so :)