10-15-2023 Willisburg Bulletin
God Is The Painter
Have you heard the newer song, “The Painter” by Cody Johnson? I was thinking about this bulletin and what I wanted to write up when this song came. In the song, Cody talks about how the girl brought colors to his life, how she brought meaning to living. It’s a beautiful song and throughout it, I could see the connection between us and God. I know it sounds cheesy, but just see. The chorus says, “I can’t remember life before she came into the picture, brought the beauty I was missing with her … my life was black and white, but she’s the painter.” What better picture than God being the painter of our life. We were missing out on so much, but God brought meaning to our life. He brought the colors that make our dull life, abundant and full! However, there our times in our life that it just seems so blue, right?
Blue is Still Needed
In the song, it says, “fine is good, but you need some blue every now and then,” and how true that is, even regarding your spiritual life. How often do you find yourself thinking everything is finally in good standings and then something bad happens and you are down in a ditch? But how that blue time, brought you closer to the person in the ditch with you, gave you more appreciation for what God truly does for you, and shows how good you do have it. Blue times are not always bad! Part of the chorus says, “she showed me colors I ain’t never seen, she took chances” and when we go through those blue times we look back and can see the colors God has made from those chances. If we trust God wholeheartedly, we will be able to paint the prettiest canvas and be the light to the world. They will look at our canvas and want to experience the same thing and isn’t that what God wants from us? To be the example and draw more people to Him. And how often do you thank God for those blue times? The chorus goes on to say, “I thank God everyday for how He made her…” Do we think God everyday for how He made us? He is our creator and knew us before we were even known to anyone. How special is that relationship? The MOST important one … one that we should cherish and give thanks to daily!
Getting Through The Blue Times
The chorus continues, “every wall I built she saw a canvas,” We put up walls around us, right? We try to “guard” ourselves from people or situations, but boy doesn’t God see the opportunity as a way to paint a picture, so
when we look back we see the beauty God has in mind when that person or situation was brought into our life. We didn’t see how dull and black and white our canvas was until God is seen. God is the ultimate painter of our life. Another verse says, “she has every sunset memorized, stores them away for a rainy day or stormy night” – Do we memorize the scriptures for those hard times? The times when we are down and the world just seems to drive us further into a hole. God is the only one who can draw us out of the deepest grave. “the skies are brighter looking at it through her eyes” Do we see the world through God’s eyes? Do we look at every person we come in contact with like God would? Do we teach our kids like God would want us to? Do we talk like God would?
Seeing God in the Picture
The song begins with “she’s talking about the future like she’s flipping through the magazine,” do we talk about the Bible and the future that lies ahead with God? Do we talk to our friends and family about God? “she finds the beauty in the thrown away and broken things, she gets excited about all my crazy dreams” Do we find beauty in the lost relationships, hardships, and rocky situations? We were broken, but God saw beauty in us. Do we see the “dream” God has for us? It’s more of a plan, but He has laid down His life for me and you to be saved.
Follow God’s lead as the painter!