18x18in. Wood panel. Acrylic.
As I laid out the palette, the colors came to me first – dark navy and deep crimson fit for the weightiness of the emotions in the psalm, and light turquoise/blue, gold and white combat the darkness and reflect the heavens above the earth. With colors chosen, I re-read Psalm 57 over and over again, and then picked up a paintbrush. There is a raw truth and heaviness to the somber reality of this Psalm and I felt compelled to use a heavy background depicting the “storms of destruction” that continually try to disturb the sweet quiet of trust and belief. The eagle was a vivid visual upon reading “…in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.”
Meditating on Psalm 57, I was reminded how God often uses the storms in my life to interrupt my own sinful attempts to control. The difficult and seemingly hopeless circumstances that invade my life make me doubt and question God’s goodness. My mind is clouded by fear and prone to wander from belief. In the same way a child cries out for his mother when he feels lost, defeated and in need of saving, we cry out in desperation to believe and hope again – “Be merciful, O God.” Just when we begin to feel as though we will soon be devoured by our circumstances, “(our) souls are in the midst of lions,” and darkness is upon us – “He will send from heaven, and save me; He will put to shame him who tramples on me.” – As I painted, I realized, it is me whom He will put to shame, I am so often the one who tramples on myself and my sin causes destruction in my own life. Jesus restores deep rest and the peace of belief when our hope is in He who conquers the darkness of our own hearts; when we sing praises to the one who “awakens the dawn” in our hearts, the Light bursts forth and we ride on the wings of dawn, free to trust and proclaim the glory of the One who saves us from ourselves.
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