Love-inspired

I believe that a great piece of composition is often the product of one's reaction towards the experiences and emotions of life. But the other aspect that truly amazes me is how our extreme feelings towards a particular circumstance of life can give rise to great and impressive masterpieces. An example would be Vincent van Gogh. He suffered from mental disorders, financial difficulty and other crazy challenges. Yet, his paintings are now among the world's finest works of art. How such a broken person can create images that brim with beauty or write songs so good that they linger even decades later just doesn't fail to keep me in wonder and amazement.

Taking another famous personality from the Bible, and someone just like van Gogh, the apostle Paul endured significant lifelong struggles as well, but his career for Christ flourished. At one point, he wrote, "We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it." (2 Corinthians 1:8). He was pretty sure the end was near, but something kept him going.
What was it that kept him going? He spelled it out for us when he wrote, "We....learned to rely only on God. We have placed our confidence in Him, and He will continue to rescue us."

Sometimes, we think our only consolation is found in a change of circumstances, by eloping to a different environment altogether in hopes of putting the issue aside, hidden and swept under the rug, but God wants to console us right in the midst of our difficult circumstances, and to do it through Christ alone. I know i'm guilty of the former, of trying to take the easy way out sometimes, and not the road less taken. And i know, i need to deal with the issue rather than keep a pretense about it.
I mean, look at Paul. Despite the shitty mess he was in, imprisonment and etc, he was free to go on ministering to others because he was not pinned down by despair or fear. He was liberated, in soul and spirit, despite being imprisoned. I, on the other hand, am very much the opposite.

I just pray that despite the bitterness i sometimes feel about life, that God would use them to mould me, that i too, just like Van Gogh, will be able to produce a work of art out of the circumstances...that shall inspire others; and at the end of the day, reap a good harvest despite the constantly weathered soil.