Welcome to Sophie's Nature Art!

After passing through the narrow gate, which is brightly lit, you would expect a bright path that leads you ever closer to heaven and thus to the New Jerusalem. But once our hiker has passed through the narrow gate, he first enters a swampy forest. Yes, the path immediately climbs steeply. First, the hiker has to climb a few steps. A small path begins at the end of the steps. This is muddy. The hiker runs the risk of soiling his shiny new white clothes.

But it's not just the path that seems uninviting. The entire atmosphere is gloomy and oppressive. The light that just shone brightly at the gate is seemingly suffocated by the dark mood of the marshland. The wanderer is filled with oppressive feelings. Was this really the right path? As he looks around, he sees dead trees. He realizes that the path is not too long. It soon ends in a swamp. Was this the end of his path? Was it all a dead end? Was the path over the cross perhaps just another false promise of peace? The wanderer feels lonely and abandoned. Where was God now? Could he no longer see the light? Had God abandoned him?

Does God hear prayers?

In his desperation, he prays for help and divine guidance. But nothing happened... Did God even hear his prayers? Who was he to believe that God would pay attention to him and hear him? For so long, he had turned his back on God and despised his invitations. Perhaps he had gambled away his chances after all. Maybe his conversion was just an emotional high and nothing had changed. He still felt the same sinful tendencies within him. His character was still as imperfect as it had been before the cross. What had actually changed?

And anyway, he didn't deserve God's kindness! He was not worthy of his forgiveness and love.

The swamp

The hiker comes to the swamp. The path ends there. How should he continue now? He really does seem to be stuck in a dead end. As he looks around searching, he suddenly sees a wooden sign. It literally lights up at him. It says: „Trust the promises!“ The wanderer knows what promises are. They are promises made by God in the Bible. Since God's word is alive, it happens as soon as God says something. When God says: „Let there be light!“ then it immediately becomes light. When God says: „Don't be afraid, I am with you!“ then God takes away the fear and He is there. There is nothing to shake about it. The promises of God are the foundation of faith. The wanderer remembers a few of these promises. One is as follows:

Trust in the LORD! Be courageous and brave and hope patiently in the LORD!

(Psalm 27:14, New Life)

Trust the promises!

As the wanderer recalls this promise, he remembers that he was told that the road would not be easy. His faith would be tested. The promise from Psalm 27 calls for trust in God. Sometimes this really requires courage, bravery and patience. Trust in God has to be trained. It does not come all at once. So God often allows difficulties in our lives. Sometimes it feels to us as if God has abandoned us, as if all the light around us has disappeared. We seem to be helpless in our weakness. Our mistakes and shortcomings are very clear to us. Sometimes we sink into our doubt and unbelief as if in a swamp. Once we have started down this path, the mud pulls us deeper and deeper. The more we struggle and try to get out of it in our own strength, the more we sink. The only salvation is the promises of God.

When the wanderer turns his thoughts away from himself and his shortcomings and towards the promises, he suddenly sees the swamp with different eyes. Where he previously saw no path through the swamp, he suddenly recognizes stones that serve as steps. He realizes that the path leads through the swamp and continues on the other side. The stones are not particularly large. You can just about fit a foot on them. To get to the other side of the swamp required quite a balancing act. What would happen if the hiker slipped off a stone? Would he then drown in the swamp? Weren't there poisonous snakes or even crocodiles in swamps? As far as he could see, there was no one here who could come to his aid. So much could go wrong! Doubts arise in the wanderer's mind again. How was it possible to cross this swamp safely?

Test God's promises!

But then he remembered the promises. God told him to be brave and courageous! If God said he should have courage and bravery, then he did! He already had the courage and bravery. He just had to believe it! God had promised it and God's word would not return to him empty. The wanderer had also heard that you can test God's word. He was allowed to test God to see if he really stood by what he had said. So the decision was made! The wanderer sent a prayer to heaven that God would give courage and bravery, as he had promised, so that he could cross the swamp of doubt safely. After the prayer, he decides to believe that God has answered this prayer. At first he feels no change. Everything is the same as before. The swamp was still the same. But the wanderer now knows that God would accompany him through the swamp. Trusting in God's promise, he steps onto the first stone. And the stone holds its weight! It offers the foot a secure foothold. Carefully, the hiker now puts one foot in front of the other. Sometimes the steps are further apart. Therefore the hiker has to take long steps. Large steps make it easier to lose your balance. This sometimes causes the hiker to sway. But they move forward in faith. Sometimes the stones are slippery and the foot cannot find a proper foothold. The hiker often wobbles. But he looks firmly at his destination - the other shore. As a result, he can always catch himself and never slips completely. Finally, he has safely reached the other shore!

The symbol of the swamp

The swamp stands for all our doubts, our self-esteem problems and weaknesses. They can all drag us down. They can turn our gaze away from Jesus. If we only look at our circumstances and problems, we will surely fall. Sometimes we make our trials even harder on ourselves by magnifying them through our imagination. The more we think about all the discouraging things around us, the bigger all the problems become. This in turn makes us more discouraged. It's like a vicious circle. There seems to be no way out. But if we look to God and keep his promises constantly in mind, our perspective changes. Suddenly we see solutions to our problems that we couldn't see before. They are like the stones that appear before the wanderer in the water. These stones are the promises of God. They offer support through the mire of our doubts. If we focus on them and on the goal before us, we will surely come out of the doubts. Faith will triumph!

There was a picture that I would have loved to paint in this swamp. Unfortunately, I couldn't realize it artistically. I wanted to paint footprints in the mud. These footprints are from Jesus. He has already walked the path before us. He found the safe path through the doubts. If we follow in his footsteps, we too will surely find our way through unbelief. Jesus has already made the path easier for us. All we have to do is follow him and trust his word.

Continue to the next chapter here: 6. the municipality