Be still, and remember who is God.
If you’re tired of spiritual battle, weary and worried over this world’s chaos and confusion, anxious and unhappy, or just plain discouraged… stop and be still for a moment. Take a deep breath, calm those racing thoughts, and remember who is God. (Hint: it’s not you!)
This world may feel like it’s spinning out of control, but He is greater than any power-hungry leader, greater than any nation, greater than any deceitful human heart. He is still on the throne, even when life feels tragic and broken. He is still sovereign and in control, no matter how crazy things may seem. He is, and always will be, GOD.
So do not despair! Do not lose heart! Grieve over sin and pain, work for change – but also rest in God’s sovereignty. Daily replace your fears and frustrations with God’s unchanging truth. Intentionally surrender all the “hows and whys” to His authority, and train your mind to remember that He is unwaveringly good, wise, powerful, merciful, faithful, loving, and sovereign. He made you and me, and this world, and everything in it – and He still is in control over it all. He is God, and God alone. Be still, and know that HE is God.
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
– Psalm 46:10-11 ESV
My Creative Process
We chose this psalm for our #LetterforHisGlory challenge recently, and stretched verse 10 over several weeks so we could meditate on each phrase individually. I wanted to create a set of coordinating pieces that were both soothing and uplifting, so I chose a bright teal blue color that most people find comforting and optimistic. I also decided to keep the artwork monochromatic, in order to echo the idea of stillness.
Next, I thought about the background texture (because you know I love texture!) and decided to use some text-based stamps. Besides looking nice, I thought they provided a good contrast between the ‘background noise’ of this world and authoritative words of God’s truth. In particular, the background for the first week (‘Be still’) includes emotion words like anxiety, melancholy, despair, unhappy, trouble, sadness. What a juxtaposition between those unsettling feelings and the sweet stillness we find in God’s truth!
When considering the lettering styles, I really wanted to highlight that first phrase as the main star, and design the other two phrases as supporting characters. I did this simply by choosing a slightly bolder and more textured script style for that piece, and foregoing any illustrations. The words truly speak for themselves, don’t they?
The other two pieces lent themselves obviously to illustrations of city and nature scenes. I had just purchased some interesting stamps with various buildings and topographical features, so arranged several of those with added texture and shading for depth.
It’s an interesting challenge to create pieces that don’t match completely, yet still look like they belong together. These are very similar works, with subtle variations in each one. I love how they look together, and think they make a nice mini-collection!
Which piece is your favorite? And why?
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PS. You can read my reflections on the verse here.