MY SOUL often longs for a quiet place, that secret place to rest in my all-knowing, sovereign, wise, and loving Creator. Indeed, He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust‘ (Psa 91:1,2).

I painted this mountain cabin picture out of my imagination so many years ago while my husband was still in seminary and I taught high school art classes. At the time, the sale of this painting helped our meager income. However, it also provided a small imagined oasis from the pressures of school and work. 

The rustic cabin illustrates an unpretentious, quiet place of refuge. Through the years, I discovered that God’s Son, the Prince of Peace, is that peaceful place. Though royalty, He entered this world through a young peasant woman in a stable, not through the rich and famous. To enter that quiet stable requires humility. King David humbly cries The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart (Psa 51:17). In that quiet place of humility, we learn, The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit (Psa 34:18). His comforting presence turns the bitter to sweet. A messianic psalm says The Sovereign LORD has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary (Isa 50:4).

Near the cabin, a mountain stream brings life and refreshment to the valley below. God speaks through the Prophet Jeremiah and says My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jer 2:13). To the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus said, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water… whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life (Jhn 4:10,14). 

Jesus is that living water, and all who receive Him into themselves receive eternal life. The Apostle John writes He (Jesus) came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God (Jhn 1:11-13).

In this painting, mist shrouds the valleys and disguises the landscape. Our future also remains hidden. Yet God assures us of His constant and abiding presence. The psalmist refers to God as his shepherd and says, Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me (Psa 23:4). The Prophet Isaiah calls out, Let the one who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on their God (Isa 50:10). However, the next verse says what happens to those who refuse to trust God in the darkness, who choose to go their own way: But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from My hand: You will lie down in torment (Isa 50:11). 

What a contrast to those who choose to trust God’s hand when they cannot see His face! Blessed are those who delight in God’s Word, for they shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water that bring forth their fruit in season, their leaf also will not wither, and whatever they do flourishes (Psa 1:2,3). Isaiah cries out over time and circumstance, In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength (Isa 30:15).

We all long for a peaceful place, yet God provided Himself as a place that is not imaginary at all. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (Jhn 3:16-17). Jesus goes on to say, Remain in Me and I in you. Just as a branch cannot produce fruit by itself, unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me… This is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love (Jn 15:4,8,9).

I pray this painting serves to remind you of the quiet and peaceful place God provides for those who choose to trust in Him. May His living water spring up to refresh your soul even though you cannot see the future. You may not know what the future holds but you can know who holds the future.