God’s Masterpiece

Christian, Devos and Inspiration, Faith, mel's world, melissa mashburn, speak to my soul sunday's, Stay at Home Mom, Thoughts
Ephesians 2:10
For we are God’s masterpiece.
He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,
so we can do the good things
he planned for us long ago.

You and I are called God’s Masterpiece.

Not an accident

Not a mistake

Not “Ah well, he/she is ok”

But a Masterpiece!

I can tell you that I have not always thought of myself as a masterpiece. I was a piece all right, but more like a piece of work. I wasn’t grounded in Christ and I certainly had no intentions of living the life HE had planned for me. But you know what the crazy thing is…Our God is a kind and patient God. He knew that I was going to take a while to come around to His thinking, and I am so thankful that He did.

You see, when an artist starts to paint he/she starts with a blank canvas. For me that would be brutal…I would just sit there and think, “ok, now what about this”, and “what if I did that?” but for God who is the ALL knowing, ALL mighty, Everywhere at One time God this is not a problem. He knew at the beginning of time that you and I would be here, RIGHT HERE, right now.

He didn’t sit there and stare at the blank canvas…He just thought it and it happened. Amazing, isn’t it?

But what about for us…I mean, if we are God’s masterpiece and our life is nothing like the Monet picture above, what do we do? I think we need to look at our life like a blank canvas, then we need to paint the picture to see what that looks like for us.

When you start to paint your canvas you need to sit, think, pray and ask God for His help as you seek the answers to these questions,
“What do I value?”
“What’s important to me?”
“What are my priorities?”
“What/Where do I see God taking me?”

Friends, I know it can be hard to think that God has made you a masterpiece, but He did. He has a unique plan and purpose for your life and He has filled your life with so many colorful stories. Some of the colors might be hard and painful, while others are bright, shiny, and full of joy. No matter what colors are on your canvas you can rest that they were not an accident.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,”
declares the LORD,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.

It is my prayer that you take some time to really seek Him today. Ask Him what colors are on your canvas, ask Him to show you the answers to the questions, and spend some time just resting in His word. His word never comes back empty.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the masterpieces that you have created in each and every one of our lives. Father I pray for the women who are struggling right now to believe that they are a prized possession to you. Father I know how hard it can be to look at your life as a blank canvas, but Father I pray that you would show each and every one of us just how special we are to you. Thank you Father for your plans, your grace, and your infinite love. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Thanks so much for stopping by for the very first Speak to My Soul Sunday. Make sure to leave a comment and let me know if you have the button up on your site so I can put your name in the drawing for the Starbuck’s card. The drawing will be held this Friday at noon.

Have a blessed day!

22 Comments

  2. Hey Mel,

    Email me at [email protected] and I will tell you how to do what I did in my side bar !!

    Bonnie

    PS … I had a nice long bath tonight and read chapter 3 !! Can’t wait for Wednesday ! 🙂 I’m loving this book and what God’s teaching me about His grace !

  4. I read something recently that said God watches us and is thrilled with our accomplishments, like we are as parents when our kids do things right. I like the masterpeice thought too.

  5. Oh my goodness Mel. This verse AGAIN. Not from you but for me. This verse has followed me around for nearly all of my Christian life and is a promise. When I am finding things tough, when I lose my way, God uses this verse to remind me He has not forgotten me.

    Now I am hearing him alot lately but this is just the Hand of God reaching down and stroking my hair telling me “daughter, I love you and yes, I still have those plans and I still have that future for you”
    Thank you so much Mel. This has blessed my socks off!

  7. Hey Mel

    Thanks for stopping by … I love this topic … its something near and dear to me and I touched on it in a blog nearly a year back … here is a quote from that blog that I thought it might relate to this a bit ( I was addressing the issue of self love…)

    “How do we find our balance in all of this? Jars of Clay have a fantastic song called Art In Me. There is a line that keeps repeating throughout the song, “see the art in me”. I love this. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are God’s workmanship. When I looked up the greek for the word workmanship, there is an implication that we are his art pieces. Don’t you love that? We are God’s art pieces. People who know art can look at a Renoir or Picasso and identify it by style. Likewise, they could hear an unknown Beethoven symphony and say, “Oh yes. No doubt. That one is definitely a Beethoven.” How do they know this? It’s because the essence of the artist is impregnated in their art piece. People should be able to look at us as God’s art pieces and say, “oh yes. That one is definitely a God one. No doubt about it …”

    So the trick to finding the balance between self rejection and narcissism is to have the right perspective. Psalm 139 tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Right there is the answer. If we grapple with self hate or rejection, we need to stop the negative self talk and remind ourselves we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Yes … as God’s art, we are even told we are wonderful! Now … before we slide on down the slippery slope of narcissism, lets remind ourselves. We are fearfully and wonderfully MADE. Therefore, we have a MAKER. We are God’s art pieces. Can the painting say, “I am wonderful and I sure did well splattering paint on myself?” Do the people listening to the music say, “gosh that violin has great ideas” or … “that manuscript sure was creative in where it placed the dots (notes)?” Nope … the glory and praise always goes to the creator. Therefore, we do not have the right to beat ourselves up or to get overflated egos. We are HIS workmanship.

    The link for the whole post is:
    http://carpentershand.blogspot.com/2007/02/20-narcissistic-love-songs.html

    Peace

    Sassiekiwi

  9. This was great Mel. I love to paint (when I get time) so could imagine this scene. I spent some time praying and talking with God last night on this topic. I see my insecurities, not liking myself too much (I speak out too often that I think I’m ‘boring’)…it was a good time chatting with God getting his perspective. xxx

  11. This is so good, Mel! And being compoletely artistically and paint-challenged (LOL!), another analogy I love is the concept of a needlework masterpiece. God is working on a beautiful piece, but right now we are just seeing the underside where all the knots and messiness is. Only when the tapestry is finished will we see the frontside in all it’s beautiful.

    An old poem by an anonymous author speaks of this beautifully:

    Life is But a Weaving
    ~~author unknown~~

    My life is but a weaving
    Between my God and me.
    I cannot choose the colors
    He weaveth steadily.

    Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
    And I in foolish pride
    Forget He sees the upper
    And I the underside.

    Not ‘til the loom is silent
    And the shuttles cease to fly
    Will God unroll the canvas
    And reveal the reason why.
    The dark threads are as needful
    In the weaver’s skillful hand
    As the threads of gold and silver
    In the pattern He has planned

    He knows, He loves, He cares;
    Nothing this truth can dim.
    He gives the very best to those
    Who leave the choice to Him.

  12. Hi Mel – what a great post today. I think God is painting some new things for me on the near horizon – I’m looking with expectation and excitement at each stroke and wondering how the finished product will look.

  14. “He has a unique plan and purpose for your life and He has filled your life with so many colorful stories.”

    I love that. That is very comforting.

    I have your button in my sidebar. It is a good reminder for me also. wink!

    Smiles!

  15. Hi Melissa,

    Thanks for visiting my site and for your encouraging words. Your Masterpiece writing reminds me of the lyrics to a song – a re-write to the tune of “Majesty”

    “Masterpiece, God’s perfect masterpiece
    I am chosen and called to be His own;
    Masterpiece, I am God’s masterpiece
    Beauty He gives, daily He lives His life in me.
    So I am free, perfectly free to be all He asks of me;
    Taking His hand, my life is planned, He leads the way.
    Masterpiece, I am God’s Masterpiece
    Work of His hands
    I understand
    Jesus is Lord!

    Rejoicing today in knowing I am His,
    Joy

  16. Mel, wow you have great responses to this. Yes we are His masterpiece, workmanship,etc.. We are HIS! We are fearfully and wonderfully made as Psalm 139 states.His plan for our life is so much better than we could ever imagine. We are here for such a time as this. Thanks Mel, Great post:)

  19. Yes my dear friend, I do have diabetes. I take 4 shots a day. It has caused me to have heart disease, eye damage, nerve damage in my stomach, and stage 1 kidney disease. I am sorry that your son has it, he will be in my prayers. I love you.

  21. Mel, this was a great blessing today! Thanks for bringing this word. The Lord has many, many times used this particular scripture to bless me, and I NEVER tire of hearing it & being reminded. Life gives us lots of opportunities to doubt this wonderful & alive truth!

    I will post your button (I hope this week) I need to do some work on my sidebar, & will do it then…

    2 things, a) I have something for you at my place, 🙂 & b) who did your button for you? I would LOVE to know! 🙂

    God bless!
    Maria

Comments are closed.