by Tammy Phillips
August 29 2022
“Come now, and let us reason together,” says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow.” (Isa 1:18 NKJV)
When we truly seek the Lord…
When we seek relationship with Him, when we seek His presence, when we seek His word and to do His works, He will take us to places and appointments that we could never imagine. He will guide us to and through periods of acceleration in Him that are overwhelming in the best way. According to the Websters 1828 Dictionary, whelm, means: to cover with water or other fluid; to cover by immersion in something that envelops on all sides; to cover completely; to immerse deeply; to throw over so as to cover. When He overwhelms us, He fills us, His vessels with the river of living water to the point overflowing. It such abundance of His presence that I almost get to the point of saying, “Woah. I am full. I do not think I can take any more right now but thank you.” Somehow in that moment, we do not respond that way, we say. “More Lord.” His presence is too good, too loving, too kind. We do want to step away although overwhelmed.
If you have never experienced the Lord in this way, I wish I could cup in my hands the words, the prayers, the places, the people, the appointments, the glory, the weightiness, the insight, the downloads from the Lord in the past week, throw them up in the air, and they would land on this piece of paper in a comprehensible way.
To say that God is AMAZING is such an understatement.
Let me attempt to describe one of these overwhelming experiences. I was standing, worshipping the Lord at the altar, engulfed in His presence. I visioned a paint brush that was full and dripping with white paint down the bristles and onto the handle. The hand of Lord was making smooth, rhythmic strokes from side to side. He was whitewashing a home. He was not painting like a regular painter. Really, does He ever do things the way we do things? He was moving with the music. He was taking pleasure in creating a Masterpiece. The Masterpiece was a picture of His work. It was a picture of you and me. It is what He did at the cross for us.
Holy Spirit had been pricking my Spirt about all the whitewashed houses that were appearing in my neighborhood. I had questioned, “Why is EVERYONE painting their houses white? What do you have to say about this Lord?” He chose to show me in this place of worship with Him.
Here are a couple of thoughts…
- My neighbors believed that their homes needed new life. Out with the old and in with the new. When we come to Jesus, we are ugly abodes. We seek Him because we are tired of the old lives we lived and the old habits we carried around. We seek a change, and He is more than willing to oblige to create something new. When we wash ourselves in His cleansing water, when we wash ourselves in His saving grace and word, He happily and masterfully paints us white as snow.
“Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow.” (Isa 1:18 NKJV)
- When our neighbors hired their painters, they hired them expecting something new. They covered their old in order to make it look brand new. When the new coat of paint was applied, there was no turning back to the old brick or to what the old home looked like. It is the same with us. We are new creation in Him. When we go to the Master, we can have full confidence in Him. We can expect newness. We can expect covering.
“Therefore, if anyone [is] in Christ, [he is] a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2Co 5:17 NKJV)
- My neighbors gave strength to their weary looking homes and increased its power to shine with the whitewash. The Lord does this for us in the renovation of our lives.
“The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary or tired. His understanding is unsearchable. [29] He gives strength to the weary, And to [the one who] lacks might He increases power.” (Isa 40:28-29 NASB20)
- When the old houses were painted, they gained new purpose. They had new life. When the Master works in us, He begins from the inside out. He expertly covers us for His purposes and plans, shaping us into who He has called us to be.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Eph 2:10 NLT)
I enCOURAGE you to seek God first. He promises if we seek Him, we will find Him. He promises to Masterfully wash YOU white as snow. He promises to make you a new creation. When you find Him, He will transform your life and your circumstances. He will meet your needs. He will let old things pass away and remember them no more. He will lead you. He will guide you. He will show Himself to you in ways that will blow your mind, but also bring healing, direction, and life to you. Seek Him. Allow Him to sweep you away in His masterful strokes. Allow His abundant life to overwhelm you. Follow His “BIG FOOT” steps into the journey of a life time!
Complete in Him 