What If the Lifeline You Need Is Already Within Reach?
Updated: Aug 25
In 2022, I created a painting titled Saved by the Bell. I no longer remember the exact challenge I was facing during that season of COVID-19, but I remember bringing it before God in prayer and feeling inspired to paint.
By the time I completed the painting, something within me had changed. I felt hope—not a fragile optimism that disappears when circumstances remain difficult, but a secure lifeline I could hold on to. I trusted that God could transform the situation for my good and use it to benefit others as well.
If you are searching for a lifeline during a season of ongoing pressure, today’s reflection is for you.
Life sometimes brings one challenge after another. Yet even in prolonged seasons of pressure, we may receive a moment of relief—a pause in which we can breathe, recover, and prepare for what comes next.
For me, one such movement from despair to hope occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic as I painted Saved by the Bell.
The painting’s title comes from the familiar expression “saved by the bell,” which describes being rescued from a difficult situation at the last possible moment. We might imagine a student about to be called on for an oral examination when the school bell suddenly rings. The phrase is also associated with boxing: when the bell ends a difficult round, the fighters receive a brief opportunity to rest, recover, and reconsider their strategy.
The bell does not necessarily mean that the entire struggle is over. Sometimes, it simply marks a timely pause—a moment of grace that gives us the strength and perspective we need to continue.
What Did the Painting Mean to Its Recipient?
Rather than focusing only on my own creative journey, I asked Jane, the friend to whom I gave the painting several years ago, what it meant to her.
Although she received it some time ago, she shared her reflections with me only a few weeks ago. Her story revealed how the painting’s message had continued to unfold.
Here is what Jane shared:
Rejoice, rejoice. As I look at the bell picture, the words rejoice, rejoice come to mind. So often, I feel wrapped up in busyness and often find myself not stopping to think about what the Lord has done and is doing each day for me. Often, I feel stuck, and over the last few months, I have been in a season of dryness and feeling in a wilderness.
I was reminded recently of the story in Ezekiel of the dry bones coming to life, a reminder of new hope. As I look further into the painting, I see the hand stretched out. We often forget to reach out to the Lord in every circumstance. Despite the feeling of ‘dryness,’ we must remember God's promises of new hope and the bones coming to life. God has not forgotten us; He never slumbers and is always working in the background for our good.
I have been off work for a long period of time due to a back injury, and it became clear to me after medical consultation that I could not return to the same role. This situation led me to wholly reach out to the Lord and trust in Him. I had to ask myself, how often had I been doing this? Often trying in my own strength to accomplish things.
As I had to make a decision about returning to work, I came to a crossroads. Within 24 hours, I received an email offering me a different position within the school that I work in, which is perfect. Finances had become available, enough just to cover my salary. I return to my new job next week, thanking the Lord and rejoicing with new hope.
Isaiah 43:18-19
“Do not call to mind the former things, Or consider things of the past. Behold, I am going to do something new, Now it will spring up; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert."
While observing the painting, you can pray for God to reveal a concrete lifeline for you to grasp during your present times of ongoing pressures.
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