"The king sent
and loosed him;
even the ruler of the people,
and let him go free."
Psalm 105:20
The sight and sound of a mighty horse, with hooves flinging dirt and pounding the rhythm of thunder, is a sensory explosion of purposeful urgency.
When I painted Released, I was filled with gratitude about some changes in our spiritual environment. Once bound by oppressive circumstances, we'd now been empowered to leap with ease over its limiting threshold to a destiny yet unknown. The Lord, who released us will also bless and direct our restless energy into His purposes.
The verses from Psalm 105 best describe an often repeated phenomenon in the lives of believers. There is a God ordained season of time that is tortuous for us. It is marked by inexplicable hindrances, a time of waiting without answers and of holding fast to faith, while fighting despair.
Then, if we don't quit trusting God, it is suddenly over, and we bust free into a release that is unimaginable while bound.
The words of the Psalm describe Joseph's story. After bleak years of utter hopelessness, Joseph's release from prison by Pharaoh was the pivot on which his life irrevocably changed.
In his trial, a season of struggling to believe through slavery, betrayals and the loneliness of imprisonment definitively ends. It is then followed by a powerful release, culminating in clarity of purpose and destiny, greater by far than anything he could have imagined!
This appears to be a biblical pattern occurring in varying degrees of intensity in our lives as believers. The confusion of our season stretches our faith, forces us to seek God more earnestly and brings us into His light, where we grow up quickly.
"He sent a man before them—Joseph—who was sold as a slave.
They hurt his feet with fetters, he was laid in irons.
Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him."
Psalm 105: 17-19
Joseph must've fought to fend off despair and overcome confusion. His dreams appeared foolish as they were reduced to ashes in the fire of his trials. Yet there's no mention that he turned away or shook his fist at God. He trusted God and triumphed to live a life greater than his wildest imagining.
Joseph's rise to prominence became as inversely high as the depths of his deepest anguish.
Only God can work such reversals, and He seems to delight in them! The prerequisite for being a candidate for such miracles is faith in the integrity of His promises. There are so many such accounts that I've created a tab titled "Reversals" in my digital Bible, where I happily collect them to reflect upon later.
The energy of release after being shackled is always exponentially greater in proportion to the length of time of being held back. The horse seemed to be the perfect visual symbol to express that power of release.
If left up to us, we'll blast our way through life at a dizzying pace, relying on our wits to live out its days. Waiting for God's unusual and perfect timing is unlikely to interest us. "Hurry, hurry, hurry, there's no time to waste" is the refrain we best respond to.
Of course, if somehow we find ourselves shackled by circumstances and are forced to wait, as Joseph was, we grumble and chafe, unwilling to trust God's faithfulness and power to reverse our circumstances.
None of us willingly choose seasons of waiting, considering it a waste of time. And yet God's unusual timing and the wisdom of waiting is exquisitely detailed in the account.
These truths I've culled might also help you:
The elusive virtue of patience is only worked in the bleak seasons of life.
God will more than make up what I perceive as lost time.
His reversals are more multi dimensional than anything my mind can conjure.
He always works on a grand scale, involving others and often impacting generations to come.
I cannot, and will not, know the fullness of His plan.
Whatever He chooses to reveal is sufficient.
Faith in His unfailing faithfulness is all I need
His Spirit will help me discern His timing.
I've often messed up, running ahead when I should remain still, or sluggishly unwilling to move when swiftness is demanded of me! I am so grateful for His patience with me.
Missing it doesn't disqualify me, only lacking in faith will. I pray that I'll remember His goodness always and remind others of it, through words or art. May you do the same!
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