The Outpouring Begins
On New Year’s Eve the Lord gave me a word to share with a friend: “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 43:19 (NIV, emphasis mine). I could feel the shift in the air as we approached midnight. The closer we got to the threshold of the new year, the more I got the sense that God was doing something big… something totally new. At the time, this revelation felt very targeted and relevant for my friend, but little did I realize this word wasn’t just for one person - it was for everyone… myself included.
Back in October of 2023, I was given the tremendous honor of displaying a painting in the lobby of my new church. I just about fell over when the pastor’s wife, Shannon, approached me with the proposal. In the most polite and humble way she asked how I would feel about displaying one of my paintings in the lobby. “How would I feel?!” I thought to myself, “elated, honored, blessed, totally pumped!” But out-loud I managed a simple, “Yeah, yeah sure!” My stuttery affirmation seemed to put her at ease as though she had been apprehensive about my agreement. I was stunned not because the request was uncharacteristic, the people at Oasis do a fantastic job of honoring the arts and encouraging people in their gifts, but because I was a relatively new member of the Oasis family and this was such a huge blessing! And the blessings just kept coming. During the course of our conversation, Shannon informed me that she wanted me to pick a piece that I felt spoke to what God was doing in the church. I’m not sure which blessed my heart the most, the fact that the church was willing to allow me to share a painting in such a place of honor or that they trusted me to decide which one!
I was fresh off the heels of creating the Victory with the rush of the concert still pumping through my veins, and I couldn’t imagine a better fit. This church was bringing people freedom - freedom in Christ, freedom in worship, freedom in healing and empowering them with the Word. As a result, God was granting victories left, right, and center in this place.
After a month of display, I asked Shannon if she would like me to remove the work and allow room for someone else. Much to my surprise, she invited me to keep the piece up for another month! “I have other recent paintings, we can switch this one out for something new if you like. I even have a companion piece to this one called The Good Shepherd that’s really nice.” Shannon assured me that they liked the Victory and wanted to enjoy it for another month and then, when I least expected it, she hit me with another blessing, “But you can put something new up in January. Something that you feel speaks to the direction of the church in the new year.” And once again she deferred to my judgment as to which one!
My mind swirled with the possibilities, “The Good Shepherd is a natural follow up to Victory in Jesus but Portrait of an Open Heart goes so beautifully with what Pastor Dan has been talking about with 2024 being the ‘Year of The Open Door.’ Or maybe something about shifting perspective like Sunrise Over the Columbia is in order.” As I said, my mind was spinning with possibilities. The entire month of December I gazed at all of the paintings on my walls, pondering which one was the one.
Portrait of an Open Heart, 2020
Pen & acrylic paint on paper
18” x 24”
There are many pieces in my collection that I would have been happy to share with my new church; all with wonderful stories behind their creation and exciting revelations attached to them. However, as I considered all my options, and reflected on Shannon’s request, I realized something - these pieces were all good but they were not new. God’s words in Isaiah 43 immediately flooded back to my mind. “God is doing a new thing in 2024. I can’t just bring an old revelation, even if it’s a good one. All these pieces were special and their inspirations were powerful in their season, but this is a completely new season.” I concluded, “if He’s doing something new, then I need to follow suit and do something new too. This calls for a completely NEW painting!” And thus The Outpouring began.
To find out what God does next join me next week for part two! God bless and have a great week ~Angela
What!!! You just leave me hanging, awaiting part 2? What a tremendous build up--can't wait to hear the rest of the story!
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to read part 2! God had spoken Isaiah 43:19 to me throughout 2023, so I'm very invested!
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