“The Firmament”

“The Firmament: God’s Miraculous Handiwork”

Acrylic painting on canvas

by Lisa-Colette Martin

Artist Statement

I saw the photo that inspired this painting in my husband’s boating magazine. I was struck by the mesmerizing beauty of the amber sky reflected onto the water surface. Originally, I thought this painting would be about the fisherman and the scripture about ‘you will be fisher of men.’¹ Being a ‘fisher of men’ means to take opportunities to share the gospel message with others. That initial concept moved me to paint the image.

As I progressed with more and more layers in the background I realized the more compelling reason I was drawn to the original study photo. The sky and water surface are uniquely golden-amber, seemingly heaven-lit, and blending together with an almost-absent horizon line. This aspect refocused my attention on the firmament and this true miracle evidenced in God’s creation. The wonder of this element in nature carried out in His thought process and design is nothing short of spectacular! ‘The earth and heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows the work of His hands.’ ² Evidence of God is everywhere, especially in the beauty and design of nature. God caused air to hold back vast oceans of water! No human could ever do this, which is an example of how God is almighty. God’s all-knowing, all-powerful nature is a comfort that we can lean on and rely on God.

Take a deeper look at the scriptures describing the six days of Creation.³ On day two of God’s master-plan, He created the firmament in the midst of the waters, and He let it divide the waters from the waters. He called the firmament Heaven [and sky].⁴ On the third day of Creation, He gathered waters and heavenly skies into particular areas, compartmentalizing if you will; He then caused dry land to appear.⁵ The idea of keeping the sky and water within their own boundaries is awe-striking to me. Scripture points to the beginnings of earth as a really wet environment! There’s moisture in the air and there’s oxygen in the water. Yet they have their own place. Skipping to the fifth and sixth days of Creation, God created an abundance of sea creatures and every living thing that moves.⁶ He then added animals to the dry land.⁷ It describes the environment with abundant food put into place for, and ahead of humans.⁸ The design of earth and how nature works provides for humans operating within it. God’s miraculous work in nature speaks of Him as Creator. This is worth meditating on!⁹