Most of my art students say to me, “I can’t draw.” I always argue back with them that if they will try things a different way, my way, that while they may not become the next Vincent van Gogh, they can be taught to draw better. I’m an art teacher. It’s my job to say that and then I have them do different drawing exercises to show them how I can confidently say that. One such exercise is a blind grid drawing. I give them a piece of paper that has a grid on it. On the whiteboard, I start a PowerPoint slide show that shows only the top left box in the corner. Whatever they see in the box I show on the board, they are to draw in the corresponding box on their own grid. Each box has to be drawn in proportion and connects to the previous box. I don’t tell them what they are drawing. (It drives this “instant gratification” generation crazy!) While it’s not foolproof, it is a very good way of forcing my little artists to draw what they see. I did this exercise with a class of 5th graders one day not knowing that it would be one of those times God would reveal His truth to me.
Let me set the stage for you. My classroom is never really quiet. The students have had to sit still all morning for math or English or whatever in their regular classroom. By the time they get to me they are like little volcanoes ready to erupt. Knowing that they are allowed to talk in my class, art is somewhat of a release for most of them who have had a hard time sitting still and being quiet. This particular class was no exception…they came in loud and ready to “rumble.” I gave instructions as to what they were going to be doing, passed out gridded paper, pencils and erasers and began my PowerPoint slide show. Box by box we plodded through revealing just a little bit more of the picture they were drawing…and the guesses began. Students began hollering out what they thought they were drawing. A lizard! A shoe! Sasquatch! (You always get one who needs to add some shock value to the conversation.) After the first row of boxes had been revealed one particularly loud, very vocal, young man started shouting out his guess. (He will one day make a great coach, teacher…or drill sergeant.) “It’s a rabbit! It’s most definitely a rabbit. Look…that’s his ears.” In his defense, it DID look like the ears of a rabbit. I let him run with it and watched as he convinced nearly everyone in the class that it was most definitely a rabbit. His voice drowned out any others who might have hazarded their own guesses including the small, quiet voice of another young man.
As I continued unveiling box after box, boy #2 began seeing it completely different. Scattered all over my whiteboard, around the projected PowerPoint image, were completed examples of artwork. Boy #2 saw that one of those examples looked very much like what they were drawing…and it wasn’t a rabbit. He said out loud, “It’s a fish” and looked to me for approval. Over the oblivious heads of the others, I silently nodded in agreement that he was right. He quietly tried to convince those at his table that his answer was right but Boy #1 continued to loudly defend his stance. As more and more boxes were uncovered, Boy #1 had to invent reasons as to why he was still right when it was becoming very obvious he was dead wrong.
Isn’t that life for us? We don’t know what’s coming next. We don’t have the answers. One experience connects to the previous experience, but we want to know what the whole picture looks like…all at once. We will manufacture our own ideas of what we think the ending should be. We will turn to others for answers and solutions. We will listen to voices shouting out the answers. A lot of those voices will be loud…and assertive…and sure of themselves. They will sway you. The loudest of those voices will be the enemy who wants nothing more than to lead you down the wrong path. He will be convincing enough to make you believe he is right. He will continue to loudly take a stand and paint a picture that seems right. He will turn on his most powerful charm and lie to your face…even when the boxes are all revealed, and truth is glaring at you. One of those voices will be small. It will be loud enough for you to hear but it will not be obnoxious. It will be steady. It will be calm. It will be sure. God does not come to us banging and yelling and stomping but He’s there. He’s always there.
For years I thought of the enemy, Satan, only as a glorified “bad guy” in a red suit with a pitchfork; a cartoon character who sits on your shoulder arguing with the angel in white on your other shoulder. I knew about the stories in the Bible where he was the snake in the Garden of Eden, where he once was an angel who fell, that he tempted Jesus, etc. But he is oh, so much more than that. If I were in my classroom right now, this is where I would start talking in my serious “teacher voice” and say this: You have an enemy who wants nothing more than to destroy you. He watches you and sees where you are the most vulnerable. He plots and waits patiently for just the right opening. He strategizes. He wants nothing more than to take you down and will do just about anything to accomplish that. He’s a punk.
The good thing is that God does not leave us to fend this foe by ourselves. He stands beside us. He stands in front of us. He stands behind us. He never leaves us to fight the battle alone. He is our shield and our defender. He allows us to use His armor and His weapons to take a stand against the enemy. His still, quiet voice gives us wisdom, tactics and the right paths to take.
Not sure about you but I sure am tired of the enemy’s sucker punches, pot shots and body slams he manages to hit me with. I’m ready to fight back. I’m ready to take back territory that the enemy has stolen from me. I’m ready to take captive the voices that gain my attention and decide whether I want to grant them an audience and listen to them or not.
One voice leads to momentary happiness that flutters and drifts away at the slightest breeze. One leads to lasting joy that doesn’t retreat even in the face of stormy weather.
One voice yells and condemns you over and over with words of not enough, gone too far, done too much damage causing your head to hang in shame, regret and disgrace. One lifts your head, offers forgiveness and whispers the assuring words that you are more than enough and that there is no such thing as too far gone or too much damage.
One voice lies and entices that the grass will be greener, that your sin isn’t all that big, that you indeed know best. One declares truth, leading you from sin and its consequences because He does know best.
One voice gives nothing and takes away everything. One voice has given everything and takes away nothing.
One shatters. One shields.
One destroys. One defends.
One lies. One loves.
A foe. An ally.
Which voice will you listen to?
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith… I Peter 5:8-9b
Most of my art students say to me, “I can’t draw.” I always argue back with them that if they will try things a different way, my way, that while they may not become the next Vincent van Gogh, they can be taught to draw better. I’m an art teacher. It’s my job to say that and then I have them do different drawing exercises to show them how I can confidently say that. One such exercise is a blind grid drawing. I give them a piece of paper that has a grid on it. On the whiteboard, I start a PowerPoint slide show that shows only the top left box in the corner. Whatever they see in the box I show on the board, they are to draw in the corresponding box on their own grid. Each box has to be drawn in proportion and connects to the previous box. I don’t tell them what they are drawing. (It drives this “instant gratification” generation crazy!) While it’s not foolproof, it is a very good way of forcing my little artists to draw what they see. I did this exercise with a class of 5th graders one day not knowing that it would be one of those times God would reveal His truth to me.
Let me set the stage for you. My classroom is never really quiet. The students have had to sit still all morning for math or English or whatever in their regular classroom. By the time they get to me they are like little volcanoes ready to erupt. Knowing that they are allowed to talk in my class, art is somewhat of a release for most of them who have had a hard time sitting still and being quiet. This particular class was no exception…they came in loud and ready to “rumble.” I gave instructions as to what they were going to be doing, passed out gridded paper, pencils and erasers and began my PowerPoint slide show. Box by box we plodded through revealing just a little bit more of the picture they were drawing…and the guesses began. Students began hollering out what they thought they were drawing. A lizard! A shoe! Sasquatch! (You always get one who needs to add some shock value to the conversation.) After the first row of boxes had been revealed one particularly loud, very vocal, young man started shouting out his guess. (He will one day make a great coach, teacher…or drill sergeant.) “It’s a rabbit! It’s most definitely a rabbit. Look…that’s his ears.” In his defense, it DID look like the ears of a rabbit. I let him run with it and watched as he convinced nearly everyone in the class that it was most definitely a rabbit. His voice drowned out any others who might have hazarded their own guesses including the small, quiet voice of another young man.
As I continued unveiling box after box, boy #2 began seeing it completely different. Scattered all over my whiteboard, around the projected PowerPoint image, were completed examples of artwork. Boy #2 saw that one of those examples looked very much like what they were drawing…and it wasn’t a rabbit. He said out loud, “It’s a fish” and looked to me for approval. Over the oblivious heads of the others, I silently nodded in agreement that he was right. He quietly tried to convince those at his table that his answer was right but Boy #1 continued to loudly defend his stance. As more and more boxes were uncovered, Boy #1 had to invent reasons as to why he was still right when it was becoming very obvious he was dead wrong.
For years I thought of the enemy, Satan, only as a glorified “bad guy” in a red suit with a pitchfork; a cartoon character who sits on your shoulder arguing with the angel in white on your other shoulder. I knew about the stories in the Bible where he was the snake in the Garden of Eden, where he once was an angel who fell, that he tempted Jesus, etc. But he is oh, so much more than that. If I were in my classroom right now, this is where I would start talking in my serious “teacher voice” and say this: You have an enemy who wants nothing more than to destroy you. He watches you and sees where you are the most vulnerable. He plots and waits patiently for just the right opening. He strategizes. He wants nothing more than to take you down and will do just about anything to accomplish that. He’s a punk.
The good thing is that God does not leave us to fend this foe by ourselves. He stands beside us. He stands in front of us. He stands behind us. He never leaves us to fight the battle alone. He is our shield and our defender. He allows us to use His armor and His weapons to take a stand against the enemy. His still, quiet voice gives us wisdom, tactics and the right paths to take.
Not sure about you but I sure am tired of the enemy’s sucker punches, pot shots and body slams he manages to hit me with. I’m ready to fight back. I’m ready to take back territory that the enemy has stolen from me. I’m ready to take captive the voices that gain my attention and decide whether I want to grant them an audience and listen to them or not.
One voice leads to momentary happiness that flutters and drifts away at the slightest breeze. One leads to lasting joy that doesn’t retreat even in the face of stormy weather.
One voice yells and condemns you over and over with words of not enough, gone too far, done too much damage causing your head to hang in shame, regret and disgrace. One lifts your head, offers forgiveness and whispers the assuring words that you are more than enough and that there is no such thing as too far gone or too much damage.
One voice lies and entices that the grass will be greener, that your sin isn’t all that big, that you indeed know best. One declares truth, leading you from sin and its consequences because He does know best.
One voice gives nothing and takes away everything. One voice has given everything and takes away nothing.
One shatters. One shields.
One destroys. One defends.
One lies. One loves.
A foe. An ally.
Which voice will you listen to?
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith… I Peter 5:8-9b
One Response
Love, love, love!!!