God’s Paint-by-Number
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Isaiah 46
3. "Hearken to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from your birth, carried from the womb; 4. even to your old age I am He, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. 5. "To whom will you liken me and make me equal, and compare me, that we may be alike? 6. Those who lavish gold from the purse, and weigh out silver in the scales, hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god; then they fall down and worship! 7. They lift it upon their shoulders, they carry it, they set it in its place, and it stands there; it cannot move from its place. If one cries to it, it does not answer or save him from his trouble. 8. "Remember this and consider, recall it to mind, you transgressors, 9. remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10. declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’”
My walking buddy and I met two hours later than usual, due to the holiday! It was wonderful to sleep in! We were pleasantly surprised to hear our rooster crowing -- just once, though, and pretty half-heartedly. It was as if he had been waiting that extra time to hear the vibration of our voices and was so relieved that we finally made our first circuit around the school! And I thought of my faith-filled leaping squirrel! I’ve heard him landing on the roof of the garage a few times this summer. And heard his skittering through the trees, but it has just been too hot to sit on my deck--even in the hours before sunrise. This morning was blessed, indeed--almost chilly!
We paused as we often do, to comment on the sky. This morning the sun had already risen, of course. The entire sky was full of clouds--perfect, cotton-ball clouds, each encircled by the sun’s glow--gold rimmed and magnificent! I commented that it looked like a paint-by-number painting. The crooked, solitary tree in the field took on a vivid dark green shade this morning and appeared to have been “painted in” as an afterthought--and the world looked almost surreal to us. It was as if God was showing us a new beginning, fresh and clear and cool and so very welcome.
It was easy to believe in God this morning, and to worship him. It was a natural response when the world seemed almost to glow with his love. Perhaps he was reminding us what he revealed to Isaiah, who shared with us his divinely inspired vision: I am the God who made that magnificent sky for you to admire this morning. Don’t forget that! Don’t imagine that I could create something of such marvelous beauty and want anything but good for you. Don’t believe that anything on the earth or anyone in all of creation could have placed those gold-rimmed clouds in my beautiful blue sky. I made them! And I made you. I have a purpose for your life so much more significant than those clouds. I marvel at you for who you are, a million times more than you marveled at the sky. I love you so much it hurts!
That’s exactly what I needed to know this morning -- the past week of news coverage and reports of tragedies in the lives of several friends and acquaintances has been so deeply troubling. And I’m not forgetting that any of that is going on. I’m merely finding comfort in remembering that God is bigger than it all. He does not burden us -- rather he lifts our burden. He doesn’t weigh us down with worry and fear -- he lifts our cares from us and calms our fears -- in gold-rimmed clouds and in simply allowing us extra time to sit in the quiet of the morning and read his word.
I’m doing positive, pro-active things to help out the Katrina victims and I’m praying for our friends who are in grief. I’m offering up all the sadness, darkness, grief and pain in the world to my good and gracious God this morning. I trust and believe that he will continue to work in me and through me to reveal his good purpose for his world. I saw God at work this week in those caring for tiny babies in the midst of hardship, and for people in boats, going house by house to look for survivors, and in the many acts of kindness that occurred. I know it wasn’t all good, and it’s not going to go away! I also know that we need to pray for God to reveal his good purpose and plan for us through these times.
My prayer today is that you will take this Labor Day to spend a few extra minutes in quiet reflection and prayer. And that God reveals to you more fully his purpose and plan for you, which he set in place before you were born.
Mary
