My wife, Sara, took up painting this past summer.
In the process, she noted that to paint something accurately you must see it differently. She grew up on a farm and has seen thousands of dugouts and sloughs, but painting one requires a different vision.
“You have to notice things you did not notice before. You need to see how the sun glints off the surface. You must account for the way the reeds reflect in the water. Seeing it is one thing, but to replicate it, you must look for the small details that make the entire picture.
A second look is often beneficial. It is easy to assume that we know all that there is to know. However, when we see past our commonly held assumptions, we find beauty that we had missed previously.
Such is the case in Nehemiah chapter 9. God’s people thought they knew their history. Those stories had been passed down through the generations. On this day, though, the leaders reminded them not only of what their forefathers had done, but of God’s history with them.
Here are some the words and phrases that they used to describe God: “Forgiving … gracious ... compassionate … slow to anger… abounding in love … did not abandon them … guided them … did not withhold your manna … sustained them for forty years … gave them kingdoms … made their sons as numerous as the stars in the sky… the people were well nourished and revelled in his goodness … you were patient with them” (Nehemiah 9:15-30).
That list is important because that is not the commonly held view of God. Many believe that He is mean and demanding. They look at the few incidents where he dealt harshly with people and assume that is His nature.
However, times of punishment came only after years of patience. In some cases, God waited hundreds of years, hoping that His people would turn and listen to him once again.
When we forget what God is really like, we end up using his commands in heavy-handed ways and imply that God is eager to find our faults and punish them. When we teach the word of God while ignoring the grace and compassion of God, we end up acting in very ungodly ways.
To know what God is really like, you need to see the little, beautiful details.
Thanksgiving begins when we see the real God.
