Two things inspired this painting. The first thing was the knowledge I had that I wanted to do was a typographical painting with a line of lyrics from an old hymn called The Solid Rock. It is a song that has come to mind often after my mother’s death from cancer. One of my favorite names for God is “My Rock and My Redeemer”. As I was thinking through the song, I was trying to visualize the image I would use to represent the line, “When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.”

This focused effort lead me to my second inspiration, which is the story of Moses and the Israelites fleeing from Pharaoh. The Israelites had seen God do terrible thing after terrible thing to the Egyptians to convince Pharaoh to let God’s people go, and yet all along, He protected His people. The day came when Pharaoh did let the people go, but later he decided that he wanted them back again. Even though the Israelites had seen God protect and provide for them, the site of Pharaoh’s army coming for them was terrifying to the point of despair. So often, I can be just like the Israelites. God provides for me time after time, yet when trials come, I fall apart and doubt, just like they did.

But God provided for the Israelites in a miraculous way: the Red Sea parted into two great walls of water, and the Israelites ran across dry ground to safety. The coupling of these lyrics and their encouraging truth with the image of fear and worry in the face of a devastating trial was the perfect pair. The Israelites certainly felt the despair of “When all around my soul gives way”: they thought they were going to die. What we need to remember is that “He then is all my hope and stay.” This painting will remind you daily that we can trust God even when we do not understand or cannot see beyond our current circumstances.