Recently, I was asked to participate in a night of worship at my church. I was asked to create a painting during the worship service to demonstrate that anything we do can be an act of worship if we are focusing on God. I was really nervous at first but I was also equally excited as I had never done anything like this before. For about two weeks I prayed about what I would paint and how it would go and ultimately, I had to just trust that God would take care of everything and He would use me for His glory in that moment.

The idea was to listen to the songs ahead of the actual worship service and pray over the songs. Listening intently to every word and allowing the Holy Spirt to fill me with what He wanted me to draw/paint. This process also helped me to really connect with God and get my heart and mind in the right place. This was not about me or my painting ability. This was about God, what He has done for me and the message He wanted to send through my art.

As I listened to each song multiple times, I wrote down key words that stood out to me. Words that I felt were important to the message of the song. Once I had listened to all of the songs, I went through and highlighted key phrases in each song, again ones that stood out to me the most. I also went through and circled words that appeared in other songs as well. This was the starting point for me. Once I had these words done and even did a short brain storming activity, (pictured in the right hand corner in the image above.) it was time to sketch out the piece.

I really wanted to show case God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. I felt that was extremely important and what I was being lead to use as the focal point of the painting. However, It would be in symbolism as I have a hard time trying to draw God in a way that is realistic since there is no way to comprehend what He looks like this side of Heaven.

The songs that were chosen for the worship service were: Rattle, Sprit Move, Lean Back, The Blessing, Make Room and Rescue. From Rattle, I took a sense of commanding to live for Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to come through you in your life. this is represented by the Penocostal Fire above the girl’s head and the Holy spirit shining on her. From the Blessing, Lean Back and Rescue I took a desire for peace and coming to the Lord for shelter and protection when you have nothing left. This is represented by the Hand of God the Father sheltering the girl from the storms of life (rain around her). From Spirit Move, there is a line that talks about the Holy Spirit pouring out onto us like rain. This is represented by the Light from the Holy Spirit coming from Heaven in order to restore the girl and fill her with His spirit. From Make Room, I took the concept of the Cross and surrendering everything that we have to Christ. Giving up our sins and burdens and everything that we put in front of Christ as an idol.

In order to paint this image with in an hour and 15 minutes( the time alotted for the service.) I needed to predraw it onto the canvas and then essentially “fill in the blanks” with color and details later. It took me an hour to draw the image out and get it to where it needed to be. All in all, I was pleased with how well it turned out and was excited for the worship service. Again, this was not about me but about Christ and I honestly believe this piece turned out so well at all stages because I was allowing God to speak through my art.

The day of the worship service, I was really nervous. Even though I was confident in Christ that He was going to show up and show out, I had still never been on stage painting while other were looking on. Every so often I would have to stop and remind myself who I was doing this for and that if people were truly worshiping during the service, they would be focusing on God and not on me.

It took me about 20-30 minutes to get everything set up for the service and after set up, I joined the worship team for a special time of prayer and worship. Participating in that, again, helped me stay focused on Who this was for and why I was doing it. It is so easy to allow the world to influence you and take all the credit and say “look at me.” “Look at what I can do.” especially when you are running an art business. But this worship night wasn’t about me. It was about showcasing what Christ has done for me, who He is and what he can do for others as well. It was about displaying what true worship is. Which, isn’t just singing. Sure, that is a type of worship but worship is connecting intimately with God and focusing only on Him.

"Let us go right into the presence of God with sinceere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise." --Hebrews 10:22-23

Going into the presence of the Lord with sincere hearts, hearts that are truly focused on Him, that is worship. And you can do anything to truly worship Him. You can sit and be silent. You can paint or draw what you are recieving from the Holy Spirit. You can sing at the top of your lungs to praise Him. You can dance you heart out before our loving Father. I mostly choose to draw or paint as my worship to Him. As long as my heart and mind are focused on Him, it is worship. 

As the worship service was going on, and I began to paint, a few kids came up and started asking me questions about the painting and then they sat behind me watching me for a bit. I didn’t notice when they left but I enjoyed that they were happy to sit and watch me paint for God. I also didn’t even notice that someone had come onto the stage and took this picture. I was so focused on what I was doing for God and on God that nothing else caught my attention. At one point, I had to stop painting and just kneel before the Lord. My anxiety started to try to get the better of me and telling me that my painting was not going to be enough and I should have made changes or it just wasn’t going to turn out enough. I knelt down and told God, “This has to be about you. This can’t be about me.” I paused for a moment there, just briefly and then continued. As I continued, I found myself singing along with the worship music and just worshiping. Just being in that moment with God. It’s the closest I have felt to God in a while.

I finished the painting just before the paster began to speak the gospel message. This was a wonderful experience and if asked to do it again, I would in a heart beat. Because this is why I do the things that I do. This is why I have Eph210ArtStudio in the first place: to share the love of Christ with others. To Share Christ and that he died on the Cross to save us from our sins and rose again on the third day. That he did all of that not because He had do but because he wanted to and He wanted us to be with Him one day for all eternity. I’ve lost sight at times of my missions with Eph210ArtStudio which is easy to do when you live in a fallen world. this worship service helped me to reconnect with God and the mission he has for me.

I pray for you.

I pray that you know Christ like I do. And if you don’t, I pray that God places someone in your life who can show you what Christ has done and lead you to Him. I pray that the holy Spirit will fill you to the point that you are so overcome with Him, you have to start something to share Christ with others.

Until next time, God Bless.