Acrylic Sunflowers painting by a classmate CC, S'porean - 2015
Ps 51 is a famous psalm of David - His confession arising from his adultery with Bathsheba, his repentance and the famous song "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence or take your Holy Spirit away from me. restore unto me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirt , to sustain me"
But this time when I read this psalm, just immediately after my previous blog, it was not this song that impressed me.
Rather it was v8 "Let the bones you have crushed rejoice."
Perhaps it was my cracked foot that caused me to have a different fresh perspective on this psalm 51.
So this page is dedicated to my close classmate CC. Her beautiful painting done recently as she journeys through a rather difficult and trying time recently. But she is no painter. Merely took up some lessons last year during her recuperation. Yet , this painting was fabulous!
Like me, she too suffered a fractured foot some years back. In fact , similar accident of missing some steps and fractured the 5th metatarsal bone. I suffered the same fate. And for her , it took her 2 months in cast and a 3rd month in airboots. Perhaps my injury seemed less severe as I managed to be in airboots on day5? and I could manage to walk in less than 4 weeks in normal shoes. (so thankful to the Lord)
But both of us had experienced the excruciating pain in the beginning. It was no laughing matter. So how can we who experienced 'crushed bones' rejoice? In that kind of pain and inconvenience?!!!Good Grief!
Reflections
John 16:33:
"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
The Lord does not promise us a trouble-free life once we become His child. As the saying goes, life is not always a bed of roses, or perhaps always the sunny smiling sunflowers or chrysanthemums!
CC's painting of these sunflowers are awesome for an amateur. She may not be the famous late Van Gogh. Van Gogh's sunflowers that turns its bloom towards the sun has a long history as a symbol of the Christian soul, among many other things. Those sunflowers stood for something positive and optimistic in the pre and post war of Britain.
In this earthly journey, each of us would have had experience 'crushed bones' or spirits somewhere in time. It should not be surprising as John had written in John 16:33.
But just as the sunflowers had depicted, even we may still rejoice in our crushed bones. The physical pain may still be there. But our inner spirit may rise above this physical pain where our body is merely an earthly tent. Like those sunflowers, we turn our face to the Son, Jesus Christ. When we behold Him, all the shadows on the earth will grow strangely dim (remember this song ? Turn your eyes upon Jesus?)
John 16 chapter reveals the work of the Holy Spirit which is given to each of us . Jesus had told the 12 disciples that he had to go (only one human physical Jesus). But grief no more. It is only because he had to die on the cross and be resurrected again that His Holy Spirit can be with each one of us. That is omnipresence. And now our earthly body is the temple of His Holy Spirit.
It is so that in John 16:33 Jesus declared "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace"
So those who have Jesus, we can have the perfect peace. Know God, Know Peace - No God No Peace! Amen? So in crushed bones we shall continue to rejoice! v15-17:O LORD , open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice or I would bring it. You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirt; a broken and contrite spirit, O God you will not despise"
Thank you Lord, for the awesome reminder of those sunflowers. Great job CC ! Keep on painting and looking to the author and perfecter of our faith! And I believe as this song goes, His grace is sufficient for us, no matter what! He is the Shalom Prince of Peace - in Him we rest!
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