Complimentary Colors and Prayer

This month and next, I am taking a leisure class on beginning acrylic painting. We meet every Sunday afternoon in a really cool building on LSU campus.

Yesterday, one of the things we talked about was colors. There are the three primary colors and, for each of these, there is an "opposite" color called its complementary color. The complementary color for red is green; for blue, the complementary color is orange; and for yellow, the complementary color is purple.

Complementary colors are the colors that look best next to, or best "complement" its primary color. I found it interesting that a color's opposite is the best match to it, to create the best "flow," you could say, for a painting.

Fast forward to today. Today, when I got home, there was a business card from the Sheriff's Office taped to my door. Immediately my heart lodged in my throat. I don't know of any crimes I've committed... I had a car repossessed about 6 years ago for which the case was never officially closed... but I have no idea what THE LAW wants with me. My mind started racing... what if it's this, what if it's that... etcetera.

Whew.

Praying, praying. Praying. Taking long, deep breaths.

Then came the "eureka!"

Just like the opposite of a color is its complementary color, it occurred to me that the opposite to a negative I'm trying to pray away... is ITS complement.

The direct opposite to fear? I think that's... the most exact thing I could think of was SECURITY. That just felt "right." So I prayed for security. And I felt a little more peace, and a little more, and a little more. Now, I'm feeling pretty calm and pretty much... better.

What are you facing right now? Pin down a name for the main feeling that issue gives you. Now, think about the feeling that is most directly OPPOSITE of that feeling. And pray for that opposite... for that complement, to take how you're feeling and make it better.

Everyone might identify different feelings and different opposites for those feelings. However, here are a few ideas of opposites to some common ("primary") feelings you might face:

Anger... Calm

Hurt... Healing

Anxiety... Assurance

Depression... Peace

These are just a few ideas. Think of your own also. Your feelings and their complements may differ from one situation to the next.

The main thing to remember is that God is on YOUR SIDE. He is on your team; he is your coach, your parent, your partner, your Love.

I hope these ideas helped you to pray, to feel that you've prayed effectively, and to see results.

Big Faith for Big Promises

Genesis 15:6 - "And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith."

Abram. He would become Abraham, the father of many nations... but at this point in the story, he was just Abram, a guy alone out in the rough wilderness at a crude, hand-built altar he had constructed as a place to worship the Lord.

God was making huge promises to Abram... I will make you this, I will give you that... yet there stood Abram, all by himself and empty-handed.

God had promised him more descendants than he could fathom... and Abram was getting on up there in age... yet still had no son to be his heir and further his family line.

"God... well... I mean... HOW?"

God promised, and the Bible tells us that Abram BELIEVED. And it infers that God was pleased with Abram's belief.

God sees the BIG picture... way more than we see. God has plans for our lives and knows exactly how these plans will work out. We don't often see the "how"... we just hear the "what." God has it all planned out. We need only to BELIEVE Him, go about our lives as usual, and trust that what God has promised will come to pass at the time HE has designated.

Have you ever made a promise to someone? Maybe a really big promise. Maybe they had no idea how you would fulfill this promise... but YOU KNEW exactly how it would all happen. Maybe you felt excited just imagining the look on that person's face when you presented them with what you had promised!

How would it feel if they didn't believe you, blew you off, got mad and went to sulk?

But how would you feel to know they BELIEVED you and had confidence in your ability to do what you had said you would do? In short, you would be pleased. You would appreciate the confidence they were placing in you.

God has made some really big promises to you. You might not be able to imagine HOW those promises will come to pass, but ask God to give you the faith to BELIEVE.

Then enjoy the peace that follows as you wait for that kept promise to show up in your life.

We are very small little beings. God is a BIG God! And God ALWAYS keeps His promises.