A Work Of Art

The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.

After he retired, my grandfather took up painting. He was naturally talented, and a few of his pieces—a giant sunflower in oil, a watercolor rabbit—now hang in my home. When my brother and I were little, Grandpa took us out to his studio so we could create our own watercolors. We each held the paintbrush, but he guided our hands.

My brother’s piece is quite good. It’s a forest scene of rich greens and browns. My painting features a flower-dotted hill set against a bright blue sky with some high-floating clouds. But at some point when Grandpa wasn’t watching, I took some white paint and dabbed it on the hill to make a river or stream. It looks all wrong—no stream starts and stops in the middle of a hill! What might have been a fairly polished watercolor was ruined (though my parents framed and displayed it anyway).

Have you ever tried to follow the Lord’s will, only to sense that you have moved too far from His plan? Perhaps you wonder whether God can use you after your divorce, your betrayal, or your relapse into addiction. Just as I messed up a simple painting when I didn’t let my grandpa guide me, perhaps you feel as if you’ve made such a mess of things that God can’t redeem your situation.

We can take comfort in the way our heavenly Father continually woos His straying people throughout Scripture. King David killed a man to cover up his adultery; later he failed to act when one of his sons assaulted his own half sister. Yes, David paid a steep price in both cases, yet God never abandoned the one He called “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22).

Your Father hasn’t given up on you either. Just ask, and He will take your hand in His and begin to restore your life.

Rest Assured

Father God, I confess that I blow it often. Remind me today that You are the ultimate Redeemer—and You are not finished with me yet.

Rest in Him: Hosea 14