Dwell

Dwell. Completed in 2015

This drawing comes from Psalm 27:4 where it says, “One thing I would ask of the Lord, this only do I seek: that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple.” (NIV). I did this drawing at the beginning of my second year at Bethel. Most of my art supplies stayed in Redding over the summer while I came home to Canada, so I was dying to paint. One evening, while settling into my new home, I had an urge to worship and paint, but I didn’t have a canvas. I wasn’t sure what I’d do, but I sat down at my easel with my sketch pad and decided to use my pastels. I spent a few hours working and the outcome was this flower.

This drawing is significant to me on many levels; one is the flower. I adore flowers, I’m attracted to anything with flowers, they are usually the first thing I’ll draw if I’m just doodling. The flower in this drawing represents me, and for God to use something I love dearly to represent me makes me feel loved. This is not super important to the meaning of the drawing, but it’s precious to point out. To be seen and known by God is the most blissful experience known to man. There is another reason He used a flower, it also represents thriving, but I’ll get to that later. First, I want to explain the colours.

The three colours used in the drawing are red, blue, and violet. The red and blue are seen as wind swirling around the flower, and the flower itself is black and white with strokes of violet in it. Violet, red, and blue are the three main colours used in the tapestries for the Tabernacle. They were used in the inner tent curtains and in the veil concealing the Holy of Holies. Violet speaks of royalty and thus our identity. Red speaks of redemption and freedom. Blue is revelation and open heaven. All three together speak of God’s house.

I find it significant that the violet isn’t in the wind with the other two colours, but is part of the flower. The colour identifies the flower (It is a viola, or violet flower, I did draw it with that in mind). Likewise, I am identified as royalty, a daughter of the King. The other two colours as wind signify the environment the flower is thriving in – the house of God. So, I am a daughter of the King thriving in His house.

We are designed to dwell in God’s presence; this is why this drawing means so much to me. The cry of my heart has always been, “God I want to know you; I want to be with you, and I want to see you.” I’ve prayed that prayer for as long as I can remember. Without His presence, my life means nothing. I cannot even comprehend how purposeless life is without Him. Only He could ever satisfy me; only He will ever fulfill me. What else could I have been created for other than to be loved by Him? It has always been His desire to know and be known by us. How precious am I to Him that He would want to know me? Being loved by God is not just about good feelings, it’s an ongoing, deep, intimate relationship and it only happens in dwelling. This is what Jesus meant in John 15:9-11, when He said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (NIV, emphasis added). This painting represents a promise, and not just a promise, but a Kingdom principle: fullness of life and perfect joy are made complete in His presence because we are living out our true design in being one with Him.