Behold - Christian Artwork as Worship.

I arrived home from a long walk last week and realised I had spent the entire time completely distracted by my thoughts. 

Autumn is the most beautiful season in the UK, perhaps my favourite. The leaves turn from luscious green to vivid reds, purples and yellows, and cooler days invite us to look forward to cosy nights in and glasses of red wine with friends. I went on a walk to enjoy this time of year on a sunny weekday morning, to behold the change in season, but what stole my attention was my own distracted mind.

Behold is a word seldom used these days, but it’s something we all do, day in, day out. 

To behold means to perceive through sight, or to gaze upon. 

What was the last thing you gazed upon? 

I became a mother this Spring, and it’s the first time I’ve ever understood what it’s like to gaze into your own child’s eyes. I could spend the entire day beholding his face, the fluffy hairs on his skin, his eyelashes and his tiny nails. Nothing could take my attention away in those precious early weeks of motherhood, I wanted nothing more than to stare into his face and bathe in the intense love I had for this tiny person.

As time has passed, I have to be honest and say those days are fewer and farther between, as lesser things have stealthily crept into my eye line. 

My phone, my thoughts, my worries, my to do list. So many other competing things scream for my attention, and I too easily give in. 

I was reading 1 Samuel the other day, about how David’s worship was used to relieve Saul of his torment, music as a pathway to solace. 

"And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David would take the lyre and play it; so Saul was refreshed, and the harmful spirit would depart from him"

1 Samuel 16:23

For some reason, this verse weighed on me. Not in a negative way, but that gentle weight you feel when you know God is speaking to you. 

Worship is, at its core, the act of beholding God. 

As a follower of Jesus, my life is one that should be one of constant beholding, of fixing my eyes on God, spending time in His presence, gazing on His face, giving Him my attention, listening to His voice. And yet, I recognise that I worship God not nearly as often as I worship so many lesser things. Not even shoe-horning daily bible readings or prayer time is enough to say that my life is one lived truly beholding God. Particularly it seems, when I’m worried, or when times are hard. 

I recognise my own need for ways to draw my eyes back to God, to be able to press the metaphorical pause button on the incessant, relentless pace of modern life, and just think about Him and renew my mind with the truth of His word, rather than my own unhelpful narrative or letting external circumstances dictate my state of mind. 

I felt God speak to me gently and call me a worship leader, like David. Not one that sings, or plays the lyre, but one who uses my hands to create Christian artwork that helps others behold God. How unexpected.

I love how God consistently uses the weakest of His flock. Those who have limps and scars make the most unlikely choices, a bit like David and unimpressive stature. 

I will be the first to say that beholding God is my weakness, I find it near impossible, but my imperfect self is called as a worship leader, to help those who struggle, like me, to fix their eyes back on Jesus, and if the way I can do this is through charcoal and paper, then so be it. 

My hope is that each art print hung in someone’s home is a call to worship. A whisper to remember Him as you pass it in the hallway on your way to work, a visual escape into the scripture as it hangs in your kitchen, or even as a comforting reminder to a friend going through a valley. 

My prayer is that these pieces of biblical art are more than a decorative addition to your home aesthetic, but by His Spirit, they help you to behold Him wherever you are. Lord knows, I need the help too. 

'Prodigal Son'