THE STORY BEHIND THE ART
On the weekend past, I was watching an interview with Jim Caviezel about the new and vitally important movie “The Sound of Freedom”. It is a true story that stands firm against the darkness and shines a bright light into the reality of child trafficking, a true holocaust of our time. What struck me most was when Jim Caviezel talked about how God gave him the gift of acting. That was his weapon. And that was the weapon he was using against the enemy.
I knew as I watched this interview about a movie the enemy didn’t want us to see, there would be a backlash by the forces of darkness. The horrors of child trafficking, and the depth of the ugly truth behind it, is a reality they do not want us exposing a light on. I sensed a storm stirring. As I watched, this image of a lighthouse appeared vividly in my mind along with the words “A storm is coming … stand firm.” I believe it was an image given to me by God. And I knew I needed to use my gift to paint it as my act of warfare.
I had such an urgency to paint this, I couldn’t do anything else until it was done, and now I want to release it to as many people as possible. For free!
“A storm is coming … STAND FIRM”
THE MESSAGE BEHIND THE ART
The Lighthouse is a symbol of strength and of hope. It endures countless storms. It cannot be moved. The storms can rage around it, the seas can try to swallow it up, but the Lighthouse will remain.
Look at the lighthouse in the picture. The coming storm is dark, the wind strong, the sea violent and swelling, but do you think that lighthouse can be moved? Against such a structure, the storm is nothing. The lighthouse was BUILT FOR THIS! The light might be dimmed, but can it be hidden entirely? There is no darkness on earth that can stop the lighthouse shining. The darkness of the storm is not solid. It is always just vapour, no matter how fierce it becomes, and so the light will always pierce it. The only way a lighthouse cannot be a symbol of strength and hope is if the lighthouse keeper neglects to or chooses not to light the lamps. But in this artwork, look: a lantern burns at the entrance to the lighthouse at the bottom and lights glow from the windows at the top of the stairwell. It is telling a story. The lighthouse keeper has seen the coming storm that is darkening the daylight and has arrived, gone up the stairs, has lit the lamps and now stands at the viewing room below, watching as the storm arrives. He is ready.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, remember who you are in the coming dark days. Satan, our enemy, wants us to believe that he is stronger than we are and that the darkness can defeat us. But you are the lighthouse. Your job is to shine in the darkness. No matter how black the storm, the light from a lighthouse cannot be hidden. It is our job to pierce the darkness and to save others by shining our light. It is our job to guide, protect and to warn others of the treacherous perils of the ocean to get them safely through the storm.
Remember this: you cannot be knocked down. Your identity in Christ and your God-given authority cannot change. It is an immovable truth. A lighthouse does not move, or collapse or change what it is. But it can stop shining. The only way that Satan can stop you is if he convinces you that you are defeated or not needed, and so, in despair and hopelessness, you do not light your lamps. Satan knows you are a son or daughter of the King of kings. He knows he cannot knock down who you are, but he can get you to actively turn off your light and be ineffective in the storm.
Whatever your purpose, whatever your gifts, and whatever your skills – whatever weapons God has given you – NOW is the time to use them. Stand firm. Shine. The world needs you. My brothers and sisters, STAND FIRM.
HOW TO USE THIS ARTWORK:
– This oil-pastel artwork is free to download for personal use. Right-click the image above and save the JPEG for websites and blogs. Or download the PDF (linked below) to print.
– If you have a good printer, print it for yourself. I’m not sure how big you can print it with the file size I’m offering, or at what size the art itself stops looking okay, but a good A4 size to pin to the wall will work well as that’s its original size.
– You can post it on any website or social media.
– Share it everywhere. Attribution would be great to get more people to see it, but it’s not necessary.
– If you do not want the words, you are welcome to crop it before you print it.
– All we ask is that you don’t sell it or make money from it in any way.
If you prefer us to print you a copy, you can purchase it in two sizes – with or without words.
We ship to anywhere in the world and the print will arrive usually within 7 days. These prints come as a museum-quality, semi-gloss (silk) print. 10% of all our proceeds go to a charity or to any need that God brings our way.
https://www.thelonelycreative.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/STAND-FIRM-POSTER.pdf
We would love to hear from you. We are two sisters, an artist, designer and writers who have been through many, many storms … and not always with our light shining. If you want to tell us about a way that this artwork has helped you and spoken to you, we are ‘all ears’. For this purpose, we have switched comments on for this post. — Or if you prefer a more private form of communication, you can write to us via our email address. See the links in the menu above, and from there you can find out more about us as well.
About the Author: Lisa Saul
Thank you for your work, and for sharing. I’m a visitor from the Bee forum who almost didn’t have time to stop.
I’m glad I came. Your artwork is beautiful. Its message powerful.
I saw “Sound of Freedom” by myself, opening night. It brought me to tears, and stoked an anger in me.
I recognize the call to action, although have been mostly shadow boxing. I pray the Lord open my eyes to the enemy’s weaknesses, and in turn strengthen and fill me with courage – and reveal in me the gifts God has blessed me with for the battle that’s raging.
God bless you, and keep you!
p.s. my teen daughter’s name is Naomi 🙂
Sincerely,
Marc, PA
Thank you SO much for leaving a comment. The timing of this is definitely God’s doing. I don’t know if you’ve ever had times when you hear God, you act, and then afterwards you go through the many manifestations of doubt? That was me yesterday evening and overnight. This morning I told God I didn’t need lots of responses from people, and I didn’t need to know how far or where the artwork spreads – I know from experience that needing such things can be a shortcut to emotional disaster. But I specifically and earnestly asked for just one person who had been encouraged by it to make a comment, and I would know I had done the right thing putting the art and the post out there. I barely said Amen, and then I jumped on my computer and your reply is here. So thank you, Marc, and thank… Read more »
PS ‘Naomi’ is a wonderful name, isn’t it. Growing up, I would have loved to trade names with her. (I realise as I write this that I’ve never told her that.) I didn’t like how very common and boring my name was but ‘Naomi’ is a rare and lovely name.
Hi Marc,
Good choice on your daughter’s name , and thank you very much for leaving a comment. I live in Australia, and I’m not sure yet if Sound of Freedom is going to play in theatres here. It might be a while before I get to see it but it is on my watch list.
When it comes to the fight before us, I have often moved between apathy and fear, but I have been praying that God will use me however he needs. And now I swing between excitement and fear when I think of how God is going to answer that prayer. I’m still a work in progress .
Naomi