Sometimes it's hard to get on this blog and say encouraging things, whether from a place of my own personal trials or the ones I share with those I love.
And yet, the good news is still good.
I hear the Savior say,
"Thy strength indeed is small,
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all."
It's hard for me to reconcile the goodness of God and pain. My tendency is to push God away and seek other comforts.
Lord, now indeed I find
Thy pow'r and Thine alone,
Can change the leper's spots
And melt the heart of stone.
We are reading through Exodus for Lent with our community group (with the She Reads Truth plan). Yesterday I read about how the Israelites "turned aside quickly out of the way that [God] commanded them" and made a golden calf in their impatience for Moses to return from his meet-up with God on the mountain. Maybe they longed for a quick-fix God they could touch and feel and understand completely, rather than a God they could both fear and love, who operated on his own timetable (Exodus 32:8).
That is so often me, quick to turn aside from a faithful and patient following.
God is jealous for his glory and for my heart. Over and over, the Bible tells me that He loves me and long to comfort me, longs to save, longs to quiet me with his love.
"The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).
So, back to pain. Running from pain only keeps me from running from His love. Running for other comforts keeps my unquieted by his love.
"Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love" (Jonah 2:8).
And running from our sin, hiding in the shadows, keeps us running from His grace and unfailing mercy.
For nothing good have I
Where-by Thy grace to claim;
I'll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv'ry's Lamb
As I read through Exodus, I'm again impressed at the details God put into the establishment and creation of the temple in Exodus, and the way it intricately foreshadows and sets up all He planned to do and complete in Christ.
And when, before the throne,
I stand in Him complete,
"Jesus died my soul to save,"
My lips shall still repeat.
The patient God who set all that up and orchestrated, down to the very day, our salvation, is the God who knows you and your days. All his promises are "yes" in Jesus. What good would he then withhold from you?
"For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11).
Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.
The coloring page I'm sharing today is made up of the intersection of the words of "Jesus Paid it all" (the hymn in italics above) by Elvina Hall and the Scriptures in 1 Peter 3:18 and 2 Corinthians 1:20 intersect. It works a little differently in Spanish (my friend Abby helped me figure it out), but the meaning is the same.
You can download your coloring pages by clicking the images below:
PRAYING the Word
God, forgive me from running from the comfort and grace I could find in you. Thank you that your love is never failing. Mine fails; yours doesn't. Make me a patient, enduring worshipper of only You. Keep me running for, not from, your comfort and your grace.
QUESTIONS to consider:
1. How about you? What do you do with your pain? Where do you go for comfort?
2. What does it mean to you that "all the promises of God find their Yes in [Jesus]" (2 Corinthians 1:20)?
2. What does it mean to you that "all the promises of God find their Yes in [Jesus]" (2 Corinthians 1:20)?
*I'm so happy for you to enjoy my coloring pages and printables for your personal (not commercial) use! Use for Bible studies, church groups or events, and Sunday school classes are all fine! If you're in doubt, I'm happy to answer any questions. All artwork and photos are copyright Marydean Draws. If you share this, you're awesome (!), and as a courtesy, please link back to this post and not the PDF file. Thank you!!
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Today I found your blog :) I do missionwork as art therpist in Bolivia. And it´s hard to fined spanish coloring pages with christian verses. Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is so great!! So glad you found me! ❤️
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