CHRISTIAN FINE ART GALLERY > PRAISE AND WORSHIP SERIES > Through Fire and Water Praise Comes Forth
Print Code: PW11 | Original Artwork: SOLD, Pastel, Watercolor Pencil, Colored Pencil, Acrylic Paint and Gel Medium Collage | Contact for prints
When trials of fire and flood hit, what is inside of us comes out of us. God’s grace is always there to enable us to pour ourselves out in worship.
Artist’s Reflection:
“The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” (Job 1:21)
“But now, this is what the LORD says–he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.’ When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…” (Isaiah 43:1-3)
“And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that confess his name.” (Hebrews 13:12-15)
When trials compress us, what is inside of us comes out of us. When the Israelites experienced the pressures of the desert, grumbling and complaining came out of them. (Unfortunately, sometimes it’s the same with us!)
However, God is perfecting his worshippers. When we meditate upon the book of Job, we see a magnificent example of a mature worshipper, tested and refined in the trials of suffering.
Job’s profound statement, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised” (Job 1:21), reveals that Job’s worship was not surface deep, but that God’s grace had refined him into a true and spiritual worshiper to the core. When Job was severely crushed and tested under extreme pressure, despite his heartache and confusion, praise and worship is what ultimately flowed out of him.
When trials of fire and flood hit, God’s grace is always there to enable us to pour ourselves out in worship.
“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me…Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” (Psalm 42:7, 11).
Many martyrs died praising the Lord. It is a gift of his grace. Through fire and water, praise came forth from them. By the power of the Holy Spirit, may he give us the same grace.
See also:
Kept Safe in The Hands of God (Spiritual Warfare, Victory, Freedom, Healing Series) (which was also inspired out of this same experience)
Job: The Worshiper (Believer’s Road Series 2)