A Door of Hope

By Hazel Holland

 

"Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her

 into the desert and speak tenderly to her.  There I will 

give her back her vineyards, and make the 

Valley of Achor a door of hope..."  

Hosea 2:14-15

You're probably wondering... "Is that a burning bush out there in the desert?" Continue reading and find out!

I had forgotten all about this pastel I did of the desert many years ago until I found a picture of it in one of my photo albums.  Before selling it to a friend, I had apparently taken a picture of it, but not before framing it and putting it behind glass.  Now I saw that the camera flash had left an obvious glare on the photo.  Then  the idea came to me to scan this photo onto my computer and play around with the glare by using Microsoft Office Picture Manager to create a "burning bush" on my desert path!  This was the the result.

After a Facebook friend saw the story behind this painting (July 2, 2013), she commented that she “loved the light in the center of the path, lighting the way where she needed to go.” 

Immediately the Spirit hit me with the truth that the glare that I had tried to get rid of was no "accident"! In God's kingdom there are no "accidents" because He causes ALL things to to work together for good to those who love Him!  So now this "LIGHT" in the center of the painting has become something beautiful to me. (I'm weeping as I write this because God's presence is so strong right now!) It will be a constant reminder of His daily Presence as I walk in His love through the Spirit.♥
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Remember how God set a bush on fire in the middle of the desert because He wanted to get Moses undivided attention?  He wanted to heal Moses so that He could use Moses to bring deliverance to a nation of slave children...

God knows your places of weakness and brokenness, too.  That is why He's seeking you out with His consuming presence.  As a Lover He's calling you to come away with Him into the desert so that He can heal your brokenness and bring you deliverance, too.  He wants you to hear the gentleness in His voice as He tenderly places His arms around you, and reminds you that He is betrothed to you forever in love and righteousness.

He's not calling you into the desert to chastise you for your inability to remain faithful to Him, but to assure you that He will always remain faithful in His commitment of love to you.  He wants to remind  you that the consuming fire of His presence has swept away your sins like a cloud.  Like the morning mist, they have disappeared...

Did you ever wonder why God chose to get Moses undivided attention through a burning bush? Perhaps because one of God’s attributes is that He is a consuming fire. Although He is a consuming fire, the bush was not consumed. Although He is a consuming fire, we are not consumed, but only the dross in our lives is removed.

Your Lover will get your undivided attention because He is your Relentless Pursuer!  He is your Door of Hope!  He will do whatever it takes to capture your heart with His love so that you have only eyes for Him.♥

To see a larger copy of this artwork click here.