encouragement

“Yeshua” © Donna Gonzalez

This week I am teaching art to a group of 3,4 and 5 year olds at a local art center; the theme is ” Art with Heart”, and how people can use art to show kindness. I had gathered the children around me to read aloud a short picture story about kindness. One little boy kept interrupting me to tell me story after story of how he was kind to his little brother or how others were kind to him. I repeatedly said “Thank you *Aaron for sharing that story on kindness…” and was just about to continue my reading when he’d interrupt again. This resulted in the reading taking twice as long to finish.

As I was driving home…I thanked the Lord Jesus for teaching me over the years how to be patient and to wait without grumbling or complaining. Many people say: “Never ask God for patience!” and you know why? Because God WILL give that person many opportunities to learn how to be patient with another without complaining about it. So people don’t want to go through that hardship and they avoid that prayer like a plague.

Ah! But let me tell you something that many forfeit by NOT enduring the trials, hardships of learning patience without grumbling or complaining…they forfeit many a blessing from God! They forfeit growing onto further maturity!

You see, when we endure those impatient times (which God uses to teach us) it is like…we have a choice: to fill up a well with patience inside of us or not. The end result is for our own good, that when trying times come (and they will come) when we NEED to give or have patience…we have it.

But, if we haven’t filled up our well full of patience.. through all those patient enduring opportunities to learn patience….then we have NOTHING to give to others, our well is empty.

Instead the only thing we have to give people is our old man, the old flesh …our grumbling, complaining, frustration, fits of anger, hurtful words, and so on. You see how this leads to misery and brings a stench of death on a Christian’s life and witness?

Learning patience is like having a resource we can lean into and use when we need it. That is a great blessing from God! And the best thing is ….. when we have learned patience, our well is full, we can draw up from it in times of need and give it to others! AND we don’t have to worry about loosing our witness for JESUS because at that moment we are showing JESUS to others! Amen? This is Soo cool guys!

So my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, don’t shy away from the opportunity to ask God to teach you patience from Him for He knows it’s for our own good, yes it is hard ….its the narrow way, no? And yes, we experience the joy of the Lord and it results in good to others and best of all Jesus gets the glory! Wow! Praise Jesus! Amen?

I Corinthians 13:4 ” Love is patient, love is kind…”

May you be encouraged in your walk with Jesus today!

Donna

*Aaron is not his real name

“Living Stones Mirage Stained Glass” © Donna Gonzalez

Would it surprise you at all if I told you that what you are looking at is not a painting of a large stained glass window but instead you are looking at one painted mosaic duplicated multiple times? Fifty-four times to be exact. Each mosaic piece is not haphazardly placed but purposefully, resulting in a consistent pattern which is a unified whole.

If one of the mosaic pieces could speak about itself it would tell you it thinks it is of no consequence whether or not it were in the painting…because what is it among so many other identical mosaic pieces? Quite insignificant hardly serving any purpose at all.

On the contrary if that mosaic piece wasn’t there, it would have a great impact on the entire composition. My painting would be incomplete without it. Because the entire pattern relies on each mosaic piece fitting alongside the next mosaic piece in order to achieve any kind of symmetry, unity or harmony. Not one mosaic piece can be placed at random. Hmmm…

Christians, though not identical to each other are born of the same Spirit. We are one in Christ and in that sense each of us are like a mosaic piece or as the bible says a living stone being built up into a building for God’s purpose I Peter 2:4-5 . In Christ none of us are inconsequential in the Kingdom of God. All of us are His workmanship created to do a specific work Ephesians 2:10. A Christian cannot say because they don’t have exactly the same work or gifting of the Holy Spirit as another that they are less qualified, insignificant or serve no purpose in His Body. I Corinthians 12:15-19

Have you noticed not all of the mosaic pieces create an optical illusion of rings in the painting? Would those mosaics be considered less important than the others? Just the opposite! Those pieces are crucial as they unify the entire artwork and serve to frame and support those mosaic pieces which do create the optical illusion. The illusion wouldn’t appear otherwise!

The optical illusion of rings is highlighted in black below and run throughout this mosaic.

We do not come into this world unplanned by God nor are we place in His Body haphazardly. Just the opposite, the Lord Jesus knows us and puts us exactly where He determines us to be in His Body in a specific time in history and for a specific work to accomplish. When believers come together making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace something remarkable occurs Ephesians 4:3. Like the stained glass window made up of many pieces working together to create something beautiful, so do we and it’s pleasing in our eyes…and in His eyes.

Be blessed!

Donna

Tag: encouragement

Why Christians Shouldn’t Shy Away From Asking God For Patience

Chi-Rho Newsletter – Living Stones Mosaic