July '25

Out of all the paintings I've shared in my calendars from the past few years, July 2025 is by far the most personal.  I only publicly share about 10% of the paintings that I create in any given year.  The rest are stored away & kept private from the world, but not this one.  This one I share because the Lord let me know that it was time.  

There is a whole story behind this particular painting.  Even when I finally made the decision to add it to the calendar, I didn't know what I was going to say come devotion time. To be completely transparent with you, I have gone back and forth and struggled throughout the month of June with what to share or not share about this piece.  I hope what I've landed on will be an encouragement to you.  Perhaps someday I will be in a place where I can share the full story, but for now- this is the direction we are going to go.

Scroll back and look at the painting again.  Ask yourself these questions:

When you look at it, what do you see?

What colors are there?

What does the placement of the color suggest?

There are no right or wrong answers.  Some might call this picture abstract- so you really can't get it wrong in my opinion.  You may have said it looks like a bunch of blobs or just color slapped together.  You likely noted the yellows, greys, and browns.  You might have even picked up on some blue, black or white.

I was in a season of darkness and God used the scriptures below to put breath back into my lungs.  Below are some of the scriptures God was working into my heart during the time that this painting came to life.  His word can bring fresh life to even the darkest valley.

Stop here.

Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give you what you need.  

Then read the words of God:

"This is what the LORD says-

He who made a way through the sea,

a path through the mighty waters,

who drew out the chariots and horses,

the army and reinforcements together,

and they lay there, never to rise again,

extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

'Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland."

-Isaiah 43:16-20 ESV

"Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.  And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right and and on their left.  The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen...

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared.  And as the Egyptians fled into it, the LORD threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.  The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen; of all the host of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained.  But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.

Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.  Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses."

-Exodus 14:21-23, 26-30 ESV

"By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians when they attempted to do the same, were drowned."

-Hebrews 11:29

The following clip is from my favorite movie about the life of Moses.  There are obvious errors that don't align with scripture (like the fact that Moses looks like he's about 25 years old), but if you can get past that- it's a beautiful illustration of what you just read.

"Thus says the LORD:

"The people who survived the sword

found grace in the wilderness..."

-Jeremiah 31:2a ESV

 Grace in the wilderness.  What a concept...

"For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit upon your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants." - Isaiah 44:3 ESV

"The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring." - Isaiah 58:11 NLT

In the season that birthed this painting, God used secular things to remind me of His truth.  I didn't have access to a bible- there was not a physical nor a digital bible available to me at the time.  (That in and of itself was a challenging experience).  But God's Holy Spirit is with His children, regardless of your circumstances or access to a physical copy of His word.  

Therefore, the last scripture I will share with you today comes from Jesus' words in John 14:

"...I [Jesus] will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.  You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you." - vs. 16-17

"...the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." -vs. 26

Perhaps as you've been reading this you're thinking to yourself, "okay yeah, but the water isn't moving.  There is no dry land to walk through."  If that's the case, may I gently nudge to consider: 

Could He be calling you to walk on the water?

"This is what the LORD says-

He who made a way through the sea,

a path through the mighty waters,

who drew out the chariots and horses,

the army and reinforcements together,

and they lay there, never to rise again,

extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

'Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness

and streams in the wasteland."

-Isaiah 43:16-20 ESV