(Note from Linda: Karen shared the following message on the private website last night, and since I can’t think of a more powerful illustration and message to bless and encourage every man and woman standing for marriage restoration, I want to share it here as well. What a powerful illustration of just how God works in our lives, and even more so to fully restore our marriages and families–and ALL for HIS glory! So read this and be blessed and encouraged to know that GOD ALWAYS KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING and when He is done, we will se something so much more beautiful and spectacular than we could ever ask dream or imagine! God ALWAYS completes the good work He has begun, so give your ALL to Him, and be blessed and encouraged! The same resurrection power that brought our Lord and Savior up out of that tomb can and will resurrect the deadest and most impossible of marriages if we just trust and obey! So be blessed and encouraged this day as we rejoice and celebrate the greatest act of love ever known to man and the greatest power ever demonstrated on earth!)

*****
Happy Easter, everyone! Christ has risen…He has risen indeed!

We had an early Easter service at our church tonight and up front by the praise band, an artist was at work, completing an entire drawing while we worshiped God. As I watched this artist, I felt like the Lord was whispering to me that He works that same way in our lives and in our marriages.

The artist began with a blank canvas and it was obvious as he worked that he had a vision in his mind’s eye of how the completed canvas would look; although, for a long time, I just couldn’t see it. He seemed to make random strokes and at times appeared to be changing his mind as he ran his hand across parts, smudging and softening lines he had just drawn. Frankly, when he first began drawing and smudging, drawing and smudging, the canvas just looked dirty and not artistic at all. Interestingly enough, the drawing had two focal points; one on each side of the canvas. He would diligently work on one side and then go to the other and then methodically back to the first. Part of the time, I could not even see what he was doing because his back was to me and my view was blocked. Eventually, I thought I could see pictures forming and tried to guess at what he was drawing; only later to be proven wrong as the drawing took on a different look. Finally, I trusted the artist to work and took my attention off him and returned to praising and worshiping the greatest Artist of all!

I believe this illustrates God’s work in our marriages and lives. Our marriages have temporarily been removed from us so that God has a new canvas on which to work. He has a vision and never for one moment is a stroke out of place…He knows exactly what He is doing. Sometimes we see positive strokes where we clearly witness the hand of God; only for them to become “smudged,” creating confusion in us because we can’t conceive of the smudges being part of God’s master plan. And honestly, if we look at our marriages during this time of reconstruction, they just look messy; not like beautiful artwork at all, but He is not finished yet. The comparison of the two sides of the painting is obvious. God starts His work with standers first; forming us into new images of His making that are pleasing to Him. And THEN he works on our spouses, returning to us to further refine us, and then back to our spouse and so on, finally bridging and blending the two sides together. And sometimes we cannot see anything God is doing. But we shouldn’t become frustrated; we should just realize that our view is only temporarily blocked. Although we can’t see; He is still working and the smartest thing we can do is trust the Artist and leave it in His hands, and return to our praise and worship.

After I took my attention off the artist and placed it back on my worship, the time passed quicker than I thought and before I knew it, the artist was finished and was standing proudly next to his creation. Words cannot even describe the beauty of it. The colors were perfect; every line and smudge intentional and purposeful. On the left, the side where he first began his work, was a drawing of Jesus on the cross; our sin paid for through His sacrifice. Likewise, our marriage restoration starts at the foot of the cross. The right side held a drawing of Jesus in His glory; resurrected and lifted high. And in the same way, our journey of marriage restoration will end with the focus on Christ and God getting all the glory!

I am no artist, so I felt a touch of awe, watching a blank canvas emerge into a work of art. Thank goodness, it never entered my mind to march up to the front and grab some of the colors and start to do my own work on the canvas. I would have ruined the whole thing! So, as a stander, I will remember what I experienced today and what I learned. I thank God for pointing out to me that He is at work and is creating something more beautiful in me, in my husband, in our marriage and in our family than any earthly artist ever could!

Posted Sunday, April 12th, 2009 at 8:15 am in Seeds Of Faith.