Art for Jesus - in Japan

By Ramone - January 4, 2007

On the 3rd I woke up lazily around 10am and right after my wife left the room to go downstairs, the enemy began hitting me with temptation — he likes to do that in the morning to start our days off on a negative or guilty note. It can be really frustrating 'cause you get tricked into feeling guilty just for being tempted, and then it's worse if you fall. Instead I want to wake up and to thank God, praise Him, and know His love & presence right away! But in the morning... you know. But God breaks through!

So on the morning of the 3rd temptation tried to get in, and I may have quietly asked for help to remember Him, to remember who I am in Him and whom I really love (Him and my wife), and I saw this picture of a butterfly's wing, particularly the lower-left quarter of the butterfly's wing and faintly some of its 'veins'. It was kind of yellow-orange and had gold-light coming through it, looking more transparent and glasslike than I drew it. There must've been light behind it, now that I think about it.

As I saw it I remembered what butterflies go through in order to fly, struggling hard to come out of their hard cocoons. If you try to "help" them out, their wings won't be strong enough for them to fly. They need to fight to come out, they need that hard struggle. Their wings won't be strong if they don't.

I realized that the morning temptations were just like that. God allowed them to strengthen my "wings" — my wings of faith — to strengthen my faith in Him, my seeking of Him and leaning on Him to be my strength in these times. I need this or I won't be able to fly to the next place His wind will carry me.

I'm like the butterfly, leaving the old man behind, the worm, and it requires some struggle & "hard" time, even looking dead like in a cocoon, unmoving and dark—but He will use it so I can fly free in faith in Him. (^_^)

These verses came to mind:

"Those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
(Isaiah 40:31)

"Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."
(1 Peter 1:6-7)

That's why the wings had that gold color and gold light coming through! The Light is shining on me, through my wings! He had me look at the veins that were strengthened by this trial, and the light that comes through these wings is the faith of gold that comes from trusting in Him and leaning on Him.

*****

Later I remembered that in my time of struggle that morning I had asked Him to help me remember who I am in Him — and He showed me! I am the butterfly! He showed me myself! I have wings! These are my wings. I can never be a worm again. I can never return again because of You, because of what You have done, thank You Jesus!

*****

The name of the picture comes from a classic Andrae Crouch song called "Through it all"...

I've had many tears and sorrows
I've had questions for tomorrow
There's been times I didn't know right from wrong
But in every situation
God gave me blessed consolation
That my trials come to only make me strong

I've been a lot of places
And I've seen millions of faces
But there were times that I felt so all alone
But in my lonely hour
Yet in those precious lonely hours
Jesus let me know that I was His own

(That's the reason I say that) Through it all
Through it all
(Oh) I've learned to trust in Jesus
I've learned to trust in God
(Let me tell you that) Through it all
Through it all
I've learned to depend upon His word

So I thank God for the mountains
And I thank Him for the valleys
And I thank Him for the storms He's brought me through
Oh, if I'd never had a problem
I'd never know that God could solve them
I'd never know what faith in His word can do

*****

Below are the first two versions of the picture. The first doesn't really look like what I saw, but I like its brightness anyway... it's me—us—soaring in Him! And the second captures the "glow" of the Light shining through the wings the best of all three.