Looking for a place to live is equal parts dreaming and judging. You swipe right on many places based solely on the look or the vibe the place gives you. Several family and friends have been in the process of finding a new place to call home. This task can be arduous, particularly if you don’t know the area very well, or at all. You have likely narrowed the search already to what you can afford, so then you research and ponder, is it safe here? Are the neighbors my kind of people with common interests and neighborliness? Are they social or more private? How close are Walmart and Home Depot? How difficult will it be to get to work? If you have children to consider, how is the local school or childcare option? Is the place too noisy or quiet for my liking? These questions are surface questions. Once you enter a possible new domain, you ask different questions: Is it clean? Does it stink? Do I like the countertops? Does it have ceiling fans? Is there enough space? Is it worth the money I will have to shell out? After all, deciding where you will lay your head is a big commitment, emotionally and financially.
A big factor in this decision process is whether you have the gift of creativity and insight. Some people look past what IS and see what CAN BE. They visualize the possibilities vs the current situation. HGTV has made millions of dollars in producing shows featuring people who can either spark or fan the flame of what you already envision.
Do you see things as a blank canvas, or do you see only what is actually there?
Almighty God, Creator of the universe, starting with a blank canvas, not only saw what was, but what would and will be, and His creativity and vision are infinitely more than we can imagine. He created the world and man from nothing (Genesis 1-2), which allows mankind to exist and to enjoy sunrises and sunsets over mountains, plains, and oceans. Isaiah 46:9-10 tells us, “I am God…Declaring the end from the beginning…things that are not yet done…my counsel shall stand.”
Abram (Abraham), the one to whom God promised that He would be the father of many nations, and his nephew, Lot, came to a place where Abram had made an altar to worship the Lord, and he once again bowed his head and his knee to God’s plan. He and his nephew had so many people and possessions that the land could not support both families, so Abram let Lot choose where he would go and live. Lot did not consult God and chose the land that, by appearance, was the more lush and plentiful, but it led to Sodom and Gomorrah, cities filled with evil and an absence of those who followed the Lord. Lot paid dearly for leaving God out of his decisions and choices. Abram trusted God with where he and His family would live, and despite the land appearing less fertile than where Lot chose, the Lord blessed it and promised him all the land he could see, plus descendants that numbered “as the dust of the earth”. (Genesis 13:10-18) And here we all are!
What looks best to us, isn’t always God’s best for us. We must lean on and into Him. We must ask for His Spirit that dwells in every believer in Him to guide us.
Not just with where we will live, but with our very lives, God has created a masterpiece from a blank canvas. We just need to tap into the creative beauty He has in store for us. “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.” Psalm 139:16
This doesn’t mean God forces anything on us. He allows us to choose the way we go. The more in tune with Him we are, the more we walk in His best for us and the more beautiful the canvas of our lives will look. That doesn’t mean we will live in “heaven” with no issues. That is for a later time! But for now, the colors of what we experience, down to the floors and ceilings of where we live, will come together to paint a beautiful tapestry that will be for our best, and His glory.
