God’s Paintbrush
by Steven Attalla
When the sun sets on a summers evening, it highlights the sky with numerous colours that generally create jaw dropping moments. When the moon makes an appearance amongst the bright stars, it illuminates the night sky and keeps us staring until our necks become stiff. Putting aside the biblical concept of time, God created the universe in six days but with us, He took nine months. I mean, if God created this amount of beauty within six days, imagine the amount of love and refinement He had while creating us. God truly is amazing, right? Want to know something even more astonishing? When God was creating the world, He put things into place by command but when it came to us, we weren’t made by voice but rather we were made by His hands.
The way we marvel at waterfalls, mountains, storms and all sorts of natural sceneries, God marvels the same way at you. The truth is, God’s love for you is incomparable. If you were given a lifespan of 3 billion years where you (in complete good health) could search the Earth, I can guarantee that you will never come across anyone who will love you as much as God does. Yes, I know it’s something hard to believe. We live in a society where if someone hurts us or betrays us, we’d cancel them out of our lives. It’s the simplest way out. In the process, we begin to build these inner walls and when the next person tries to tell us that they love and care for us, our response is “thank you, next”.
You are valuable in the eyes of God. When King David fell into sin, he repented with an utterance and God put away his sin. When Zacchaeus was exposed to God’s love, he restored fourfold of his goods! When Dimas (the thief crucified with Christ), saw the heart of Christ, he asked Him to remember him when He enters His kingdom and guess what?! In that moment, Christ had accepted him into paradise! This is how precious you are in the eyes of God. You are loved even if you struggle to accept it.
You know, I’ve always wondered why we have lines on the palm of our hands. The common theory about these lines is that they reflect what our personalities are like. Yeah I know, it’s crazy what some people come up with. Although I do confess I once searched it up on Google to find out what my palm would read and I’ve got to admit, after finding out my supposed personality, I was quite disappointed at the way my lines were drawn. But after being exposed to Psalm 139 (my absolute favourite Psalm by the way), my aspect of these lines had changed. “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). After reading this verse, I took another look at my palms and this time, instead of seeing lines, I saw stitches.
Now, I would picture the Creator using the skin as a thread and stitching us up; leaving scars on our hands and feet to remind us of His work.
We’re moulded by God’s hands.
The fingers that ordained the moon and the stars (Psalm 8:3) are the same fingers that trace the outline of our smiles.
He has searched us and He knows us. He knows when we sit and when we rise. He understands our thoughts from afar (Psalm 139:1-2)
He inscribed us on the palm of His hands (Isaiah 49:16)
He always thinks about us. If you were to count the amount of times you have crossed His mind, they would be as countless as the sands on the seashore (Psalm 139:17-18)
As a matter of fact, He knows the exact number of hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30)
He has loved us with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3) and because of this great love, He sentHis only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him (1 John 4:9).
Do you see it now? That despite how filthy you may feel or rusty you may be, YOU. ARE. LOVED! Once you slap the paintbrush out of the world’s hands, the truth will varnish your heart and it will become clearer in your eyes. The Truth will set you free from the captivity of this world.