Step Fifty-Three: Drawing in Delight

Dear Readers,

I was recently challenged by one of my professor's wives to study the bible by drawing. She suggested we pick a passage, read it and then draw the image that comes to mind. I thought she might be out of her mind, not all of us have the ability to draw. However, her point was not that we all practice drawing, it was that we should not be bored with our bible studies. If we, as Christians, truly love God then we also delight in Him and in spending time with Him, if the way that we are studying His word or the way that we are spending time with Him becomes a chore or bores you, you need to change it up. That is not to de-emphasize discipline. We still need to practice the discipline of spending time with Him, simply change the way you do it. There is no prescribed formula, no "right" answer, God is too vast to say that you can only pray to Him by silently thinking something. The truth is that when you grow weary or bored of spending time with Him then we are not truly spending time with God at all. God is not boring. He is full of splendor and joy, you cannot spend true time with him and be bored. You might come away angry, you might walk away boisterous, you might even walk away completely depressed, but you will not walk away saying "that was boring." So as much as I hated the idea of drawing, I delighted in the idea that God was meant to be captivating and, dare I say it, entertaining.

I decided to try it with Isaiah 62:3 "You will be a crown of splendor in the hand of you God, a royal diadem in the hand of the Lord." I drew this golden crown, unnaturally well, for me, with these huge amethyst jewels. It looked kind of lonely though. So I decided to write all the words that stood out to me as I read Isaiah 61 and 62. These are the words I wrote: delight, joy, beauty, daughter, holy, rejoice, blessed, savior, shines, splendor, restore, crown, justice, righteousness, redeemed, gladness, faithfulness, sanctuary, and praise. I thought about these words, dwelling on them and how they reflected on me and my relationship with my God. I decided then to write a poem using these words as their substance.

Blessed daughter,

you are redeemed

to your full splendor

through my faithfulness alone

I have restored you

made you my sanctuary

clothed in beauty, joy and praise

my light shines through you

my delight is in you

my holy crown rests upon you

rejoice with gladness

for through the savior

justice and righteousness

reign once more.

Holy Savior,

you have restored and redeemed me.

Justice tore your daughter away

but faithfulness pursued

for the joy set before you.

Splendor shines from

your beautiful crown.

Blessed be your sanctuary.

With gladness I will rejoice

because of your righteousness

I will sing your praises.

I will delight in you.

I delighted in writing this poem, I enjoyed it! It truly made me feel at peace with God. So my challenge to you is stop being bored. If you aren't getting anything out of your worship of God, then chances are you aren't really worshipping God, instead you are going through the motions. So switch it up. If you normally read chapters, choose a verse instead, if you normally pray silently write it down or draw it out. Challenge yourself. Find a way of delighting in His presence once more.