Chariot of His Fire!
Canvas: 18” x 24”
Date: August 1st, 2021 [During the time of Tokyo Olympics]
Time: Approx. 3 hours
Cost: $1,100
Artist Statement
Let everyone thank God, for he is good, and he is easy to please!
His tender love for us continues on forever!
. —Psalm 136
Throughout the week, I had been thinking about Psalm 136 which says, “His tender love for us continues on forever!” 26 times. Yes, really, 26. [Credit to Steve McVey’s book—Beyond an Angry God for pointing that out to me] Then, early on Sunday morning I heard a message from Mike Zenker at Hope Fellowship in Ontario, Canada using Psalm 136 as a way to escape anger and fear: be honest with God about our pain; notice how He suffers with us in our pain; and focus on thankfulness for God’s unending love.
I got an image of a woman shouting in a place of pain and loneliness, fists clenched at God. Her honest dialog with God allows God to speak to her with tender words of grace, “I suffered with you on the cross. My compassion and suffering for you will never end.” Sparks begin to fly in her mind…igniting joy!
Then, I arrived at Hope Covenant Church to discover Doug Glynn’s message was about supernatural love: being agents of change in the world, not through anger and talking louder, but by transmitting the eternal flame of His grace and kindness displayed on the cross. Wow, this was all connected! Jesus’ competitor in the race was not other people or the government, it was the lie that ‘God is hard to please and easily disappointed.’ The cross proves the opposite—“He is easy to please and His love endures forever.” When we realize this, like the woman in the painting (inspired by the US medalist Gabrielle Thomas), we shine like we just medaled at the Olympics too! In fact, we’ve already won the gold! At the ‘A.D. 33 Jerusalem Olympics on Calvary,’ Jesus ‘broke all the records’ of humanity’s shame, winning the Eternal Gold of Righteousness on your behalf—AS YOU! So, in the challenging ‘events’ of our lives, we can run with HIS speed and HIS power! We ALL get the chance to be…Chariots of His Fire!