This past weekend, we did an activity to practice listening to the Lord and hearing what the Lord is speaking over us. I knew this activity was going to be hard for everyone. It’s one thing to hear God and believe what He is saying about other people, but it’s another to hear and believe what God is saying over me. As I constantly asked God who I am and asked Him to speak to me, He spoke magnificent words over me. He spoke words that I believe about myself but many of the words He spoke I didn’t understand. Then the Lord spoke a remarkable word over me. He told me that I’m a “masterpiece”.
As soon as He whispered that over me, it took my breath away. I was speechless, shocked, and in disbelief. I told Him, “No way God! There’s no way I’m your masterpiece!” He answered me by warming my heart and giving me His reassurance. There’s a reason why this word means so much to me, and that reason is because I’m an artist. Art has always been a way that I have connected with God. When I spend time in God’s creation, I feel His presence the most. I’m able to gain inspiration and I stand in awe of His beautiful craftsmanship. God knows how deeply I care about our creative connection. That’s why it took me by surprise when he called me His masterpiece!
As an artist, a masterpiece is your best work! It’s the piece of art that everyone knows you by, that you want to show off to the world, and that you are the most proud of! It’s hard to create a masterpiece, and once you create one, you can’t really have another masterpiece. It’s one of a kind and so precious to the artist! I’ve been creating art myself for fourteen years, and I still never created something so special to me that I would consider it a masterpiece. I’ve created works that are pretty special to me, but none that are so valuable that I couldn’t give them away. But our gracious God has created a masterpiece! I always thought His masterpiece was the trees that sway in the wind, or the birds that chirp with joy, or the oceans with waves that crash on top of each other. I spend so much time in God’s creation that I would consider the lands, oceans, and animals a masterpiece. No, not to God! God doesn’t call these things that I love a masterpiece. He calls nature good, but not a masterpiece. My good good Father calls me, Courtney Andexler, His masterpiece. It just blows me away! Ever since He spoke that over me, I’ve been so shocked, and I still am! I know God wouldn’t speak something over us that we aren’t. Still, this is so meaningful to me that it might take me a while to grasp that I’m His one and only; His precious, priceless, and well-known masterpiece. What an honor!
I’m still comprehending what that means for me to be His masterpiece, but I know this is just the beginning of all He is speaking over me. Even just thinking about being God’s special creation makes my heart race and I don’t even have the words to describe how in awe I am that God would love me that much. It’s amazing how good, special, and loving our Father is that He would call us by what He knows will impact us the most, and that He would call us the opposite of who we think we are. God treasures our relationship so much that He would call me something I always wanted to be…His masterpiece. I know I have this whole life to learn about what it means to be God’s masterpiece, and I’m excited to see what God is going to show me about my identity through this artistic standpoint within the next nine months.
P.S: Down below I linked some of my favorite landscape pictures of Thailand so far. It amazes me that God’s handiwork is so beautiful, yet He still calls me His masterpiece!
