Have you ever marveled at the beauty of a silhouette? Have you ever tried to paint one?
The artist creates a stunning backdrop of colors: reds, oranges, yellows, and sometimes even pinks and purples. Then with a mighty swipe of his brush, he mars the beauty with a long black stroke that goes nearly from top to bottom. It appears that the painting has been ruined. But as the black strokes multiply, the artist almost seems to delight in obscuring the glorious colors previously seen. Then it is finished. The black now only contrasts beautifully with the light, drawing the eye to the beautiful colors – the painting is breath-takingly more beautiful than it ever could have been without those black marring lines.
As a painting on my Master’s easel, I’ve often thought He was making a mistake with my life. Like the time we changed course, and I ended up in Tennessee teaching school instead of in China teaching English. Like when I married a man who showed his true colors on our honeymoon (and they weren’t far from black!). Like when my daughter blocked my number, and cut me out of her life. Those black brushstrokes on my canvas were disappointing at best, and destructive at worst. It was easy to get caught up in the emotions of the moment, and become discouraged, disillusioned, and in despair. The pain was unimaginable. Why did God allow those black brushstrokes to destroy the beauty that my life once was?
It felt as though all light was going to be obscured from view. Like there was no hope of beauty. Like I would be overcome with darkness, and finally succumb to the empty blackness that wanted to envelop me. The light of the happier moments in my life were overshadowed with the pain of the black times. It was impossible, in my human existence, to step back and view the big picture.
In the thick of it all, when the paint being applied to my canvas was blacker than black, the Master took a moment with me to recognize the pain, the hopelessness, and the seeming impossibility of survival. That little moment with Him was enough to once again turn my eyes to the Light, and open my eyes of faith to the beauty He was intent on creating.
Hope in Our Creator -- Part 2
That first moment came with the realization that He knew me. He knew the pain I was feeling; the hopelessness. He was not turning a blind eye to my tears. He was collecting them in His bottle. (Ps. 56:8). He was, in fact, remembering how frail and fragile I am. (Ps. 103:8-14) He knew that I was just a bunch of dust, prone to fly into a cloud of chaos, with every little wind. Unless of course, I was secured by the water of His Word.
He knew every black brushstroke. Nothing was a surprise to Him. And as my Creator, only He could bring beauty out of all that black. Only He could shine forth His light in such extraordinary beauty that the black went unnoticed as it accented the Light.
And as I realized that the dark and bitter things of my life only displayed the beauty of His Light more and more, I began once more to take hold of hope.
I began to better understand what Jesus meant when He said, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:9)
We have so often heard this verse, that we often almost skim over it, as cliché, but let me paraphrase it, and see if it will encourage you as it did me.
“In whatever dark situation you find yourself, I am there with you, giving you strength to carry on, because I can only show My strength through you when you are weak.” When I understood that God is looking for a way to showcase His strength and Almighty power (2 Chron. 16:9) through impossible situations and weak people, I nearly laughed.
“I must be Your favorite daughter,” I teased Him, because I am certainly one of the weak ones, that are always finding themselves in impossible situations. You must be happy to see my prayers coming, because they’re so often big ways to show how strong You are!”
I began to understand how Paul could respond as he did to Jesus in 2 Cor. 12:9-10 (again, my paraphrase): “If it is true that You can show Your strength through my weakness, I will not hide where I am weak, but rather take pleasure in all the hard times, all the pain, and all the distress, so that Your power may be more fully displayed for all to see. For when I am weak and incapable as a human, I am strong in You.”
That is hope in our Creator, who sees our needs, our weakness, our pain, and the black marring lines. That is hope in His intricate knowledge of us, and how we may best put His Light on display for all to see. That is hope in His strength, and His ability to bring unsurpassed beauty out of the depths of our dark times. May we all find that hope a real source of strength and light when all seems pitch black.
April 11, 2025
God’s Strength Displayed through Our Weakness.