God has been molding me over this last year, teaching me the importance of glorifying Him with my artwork, rather than putting the spotlight on myself. It took me about a month to finish this piece. I have been walking through some difficult experiences lately, and with each step, God has tangibly shown me what it means to put on the full armor or God. And with each lesson learned, He has also inspired, one by one, the various sections of this painting.

The process of trying to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in my paintings fits smoothly into my canon of work. Moreover, I followed the pattern of my last 100 paintings by creating this piece of artwork on a small surface. You see, God’s love and message of salvation is offered to all, not just the wealthy. Likewise, I want my pieces of art, and the messages they portray, to be accessible to all, not just those who can afford larger paintings.

Life is hard. Being a believer does not take away the difficulties, but adds more because Satan sees us as his enemy, and does what he can to bring us down and pull us away from God.

Over the last few weeks, I have undergone some pretty major spiritual warfare. As the battle has ensued, I have abstractly painted some of the realities I have experienced. I will share what I can through bullets:

• The top left corner signifies the darkness in my life, darkness that seems to always be swirling, trying to push its way into my heart and mind.

• But, thankfully, God has provided a shield of faith to push back the darkness. In this painting, the shield is represented by the blue line just below the darkness in the left top corner. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that faith is a gift from God to us. And what a fabulous gift that is! We are able to believe that what God tells us is true, and use that faith to hold off the enemy’s firery darts.

• The red portion at the bottom of the painting, with the black lines on top, stand for Paul as he wrote this passage in Ephesians while behind bars. I am fairly certain that Satan thought he had finally stopped this man of God from being able to work anymore for the Lord. But little did he know that God was able to use Paul right there in the midst of his life challenges. Likewise, on those days when we feel everything is crashing down, we must remember that God is still near, and that He is able to use us greatly no matter our circumstances.

• The white in the painting symbolizes praying in the Spirit. The dove is a depiction of the Holy Spirit who is flying into the spiritual battle with us and for us, using the Word of God as His sword. The white reaches both into and out of Paul’s cell. For not only does Paul tell the Ephesians that he is praying for THEM, but he also asks them to pray for HIM. You see, we all need prayer, even those who have been given leadership positions. No one is so good or powerful that they no longer need the power of prayer.

• And, finally, the paint in the middle (the area with the dove) is active and moving. I have to remind myself that we are in the midst of a spiritual battle. As such, we need to take heed of what God tells us in Ephsians 6, and actively, purposefully, engage the enemy with the full armor God has provided for us. This is not a time to slumber, but a time to rise and fight and stand.

I created this alone. So, Twila Miles. Well, I also have to give the Holy Spirit credit for His inspiration.

Type of work: a unique original
Purchase price: $75