My wife joined me at our kitchen window for a quiet moment of wonder. The western horizon was ablaze with the setting sun and the sky was filled with oranges, reds, purples and blues as the last remnants of the day gave way to night. It was a marvelous display of God’s artistry and I felt a sense of awe and wonder as I stood and watched.
As I turned to walk away and go on to the completion of a few evening chores something caused me to stop and look again. “God is painting, pay attention.” This is the thought that came to me in that moment. So I did, and I thanked God for the moment and the privilege of being able to see another one of his masterpieces on display.
And as so often happens in moments when I am quiet and still, God spoke into my heart and mind. “Every moment of every day and every soul that you encounter is also my masterpiece. Are you paying attention?”
The fact is, often times I am not paying attention to what God is doing. I allow myself to be caught up in daily life and in the mundane details of existence. Eating, sleeping, going to work, household chores, and just getting from point A to point B. None of which are bad in and of themselves but all of which can lead to a life where God has scant room to work. And I don’t know about you but my life still needs a lot of work.
I need moments where I stop and focus on my Heavenly Father and where I make him the center of my attention. I am always blessed by his presence and by what he reveals to me and it is in the those times where I often experience real growth and real change. Yes, God desires fellowship with me because he loves me and I am his creation and the best reason of all to come into his presence is just because he deserves it. Even so, I find that I can’t draw closer to him without it changing me in some way for the better and I am thankful that he is not finished with his masterpiece in me yet.
God is creating a masterpiece in you and I. Are you paying attention? God is still working in our world (even though it seems the only news we hear is the bad news, that isn’t the whole story) are you paying attention? If God has given us another day and is still allowing us to draw breath then his work in us is not yet completed. And we do well when we give him our full attention.