Scripture

Our verse for today comes from Psalm 23:2, “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. “

Background

There once was a television show that aired on PBS in the 1980’s and 90’s called The Joy of Painting . The host and instructor was a man named Bob Ross. In each half-hour telecast, Ross would turn a plain white canvas into a beautiful, tranquil outdoor scene that was usually full of evergreen trees, mountain peaks, and a gentle stream or peaceful lake. And just to hear Bob was to love him, for he had a voice that belonged at the Masters, whispering the tales of golfers as they drove and putted their balls around the course. Bob had a knack for quaint and charming phrases that went along perfectly with his unassuming and mellow style. ” Just ‘smoosh’ it in there. It’s not a real word, but people seem to know what it means. ” ” Tender as a mother’s love. ” ” Shwoop. You have to make those little noises or it just doesn’t work. ” ” Trees cover up a multitude of sins. ” ” We don’t make mistakes, we just have happy accidents. ” And he always ended each program by saying, ” From all of us here I’d like to wish you happy painting, and God bless my friend. ” Everything in Bob’s world of painting was happy. He would say, ” If you want sad things, watch the news. ” In the Air Force, Ross was the Sergeant who screamed at the soldiers to do their jobs, so when he left the military, he vowed to never yell again. And watching him paint, one would believe he never once raised his voice.

Application

From Bob I learned that there was more than just blue, white and yellow. He painted with Phthalo Blue, Titanium White, Van Dyke Brown, and Cadmium Yellow. And these colors created magnificent scenes he called ” Spectacle of Lights, ” ” Mountain Retreat, ” ” Alaskan Waterfall, ” and thousands of others. All told, Ross painted almost 30,000 paintings before dying of Lymphoma at just 52 years old. There may not be a green pasture or still waters in your path today. But if you can find one, there’s an awesome God there to share it with.

Charge

As we seek Him today, let the colors and scenes and sounds of your day remind you of God and His infinite wonder.