The Weekly Breather: Run with Endurance
A guided art meditation is simply a time to be still, contemplate, and allow God to speak to you through art. While we are accustomed to verbal and written forms of communication, art is a visual form which connects with our minds and hearts in a very different way. It is a way of communicating without using words.
Settle Yourself and Release
Find a quiet place to relax and meet God. Gather all your current thoughts or concerns and place them aside. Be still and breathe deeply.
Encounter: Let Us Run with Endurance!
For this breather, spend several minutes reading the following Scripture passages and looking at the image that appears at the top of this exercise: “Hebrews 12:1–3” by Anneli Anderson (USA/Contemporary).
And now, what is my endurance? Is it not the Lord?
Even my existence is from you.
Psalm 38:8 (NETS/LXX)
—–
O endurance of Israel! O Lord!
Let all who forsake you be put to shame;
let those who have turned away be recorded on the earth,
because they have forsaken the fountain of life, the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:13 (NETS/LXX)
—–
But as for the seed that landed on good soil,
these are the ones who, after hearing the word,
cling to it with an honest and good heart,
and bear fruit with steadfast endurance.
Luke 8:15 (NET)
—–
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely,
and run with endurance the race set out for us,
keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.
For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame,
and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Think of him who endured such opposition against himself by sinners,
so that you may not grow weary in your souls and give up.
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NET)
Contemplate: the relationship between our response to God and Spirit transformation
- Notice the colors to the left and right of the runner. What might the dark-blues represent? What might the yellows and white represent?
- Notice the light-blue coming from the white and yellow. Where does this light-blue go?
- What is different between this blue and dark-blue to the left of the painting? What might the light-blue represent?
- How many people are running in the center of the painting? (look carefully at the runner’s hair, her foot and the hand of the person behind her)
- What might the color changes around the runner indicate?
- Notice the swirling of the white and the concentric circles along the swirling path. Where does the white seem to touch the runner?
- Notice the runner’s right hand which is stretching back to the left in the painting. What is the runner passing to the person behind him or her?
- Where does the white seem to touch the person behind the runner?
- What is different between the ways each runner encounters the yellow and white?
Prayer
Take a moment and reflect on Jesus’ faithfulness. Identify a moment in his life that demonstrates his endurance to you. If you are able, take a heavy bag, and carry it around until you are tired of it. Ask Him to show you where you may have sin or distraction slowing you down and confess it. Then set the bag down. Praise God that he makes you a new creation able to run in freedom.
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