Tag: change

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Painting: Breakthrough by Helen Sanderson-White (Copyright 2025 Helen Sanderson-White. Do not reproduce without permission). 

At some point in our lives, we all need breakthrough in a situation. A new beginning, season or provision for projects and plans. Whatever the circumstance, there comes a breaking point where things must change so that life can move on and grow. There are various situations that I have prayed about for years and in some cases decades. Back in 1997, God made me some promises about things to come in my life and over the last 28 years I have seen various parts of these promises come into fruition.  

Promises unfold slowly over time through regular prayer and holding into what God has said. If he said it, it will happen in his timing. But that’s the key: timing. God’s timing is different than our own, and requires patience and a willingness to partner with him in the process of breakthrough. He longs for relationship with us, and this is more important than receiving breakthrough. The journey is more important than the destination because of our growth and development come from knowing God more deeply.  

“The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24 

Hope is the route to breakthrough, and breakthrough breeds more hope. The two are inextricably linked together and intertwine to become powerful. If you are waiting for a breakthrough, it can feel like waiting for a wall to crack or a barrier to come down. It can feel like there is partition blocking the way ahead; you know the end result, but you don’t know how to get there. Only God can make the way ahead possible.  

A while ago I had a picture of a glass ceiling shattering to reveal the rainbow colours of God’s promise breaking through. The different size dots representing the hopes both large and small that we carry through life, and also his long term promises to me. This greatly encouraged me that breakthrough is on the way and that God’s plan for my life is happening. The rainbow colours also express God’s love for us and the beauty of his promises which blossom throughout our lives. Only God’s love for us can shatter obstacles and bring the hope and amelioration we require.  

Breakthrough can be continuous rather than a one-off event. Sometimes we need the big moment of change that ushers in a season of smaller breakthrough moments, whilst in other seasons the changes are smaller but they bring momentum that accelerates change. The answers to our prayers can be unexpected and leftfield because God’s knowledge of how to bring our situations in line with his will is far greater than our own. 

If we keep moving forward with God, trusting him and his plans for us, he will bring the moments of breakthrough, small, big, quiet and loud when we least expect it. The breakthroughs are great testimonies to tell others, and as we share the stories, God’s glory is shown to others around us.  

The painting is acrylic on canvas and was exhibited in the Destination Hope art exhibition at Gold Hill Baptist Church in April 2025. I am currently working on a piece of music to accompany this painting. Check my website for details of when this piece will be released.  

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Sketch: Breakthrough by Helen Sanderson-White (Copyright 2023 Helen Sanderson-White. Do not reproduce without permission). 

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A few years ago, I saw a meme that said “Dear Lord…” and then showed a big pile of Scrabble letters that were in a mess. If I could describe my prayer life to you right now, that meme would accurately describe it. Today I had one of those moments where my prayers were car-crashing into each other. I arrived at church in good time (this is unusual, make no assumptions here!), and from the minute I sat down, my thoughts were scrambled up. No prayer was coherent, I’d start a sentence and not be able to complete it before the next thought took my mind captive. The sheer weight of all the situations I’m carrying weighing down on me.  

“Lord, I need help with…” 

“Please heal Jo…”* 

“Do I need to be worried about…” 

“Tomorrow I have to…” 

“I’m not sure I can…” 

Not one sentence made sense. My brain was raising one issue after another with no space to think. I said to the Lord, “I hope you understand all of that because it’s the best I can do right now.” And in that moment, I had a deep peace that the Lord had understood my heart’s cry and that he will answer me.  

In Luke 8, the woman who was bleeding and came to Jesus, received her answer to prayer without actually saying any words in the moment of breakthrough. She may have prayed before the event, but scripture indicates that she doesn’t say anything to Jesus, she just touches the hem of his cloak and is healed. In the moment of the miracle she has no words to say, yet Jesus’s spirit knows her need and meets it.  

Hannah got to the end of her rope in her situation. Desperate for a child and being tormented by husband’s other wife, her endless prayers became cries where her mouth moved but no sound came out. The situation had driven her to the point where she prayed until there was no sound left to make. We know that Eli the priest actually thought that she was drunk because of her distressed behaviour. Realising that she was petitioning the Lord out of sheer desperation, he came into agreement with her and the vow she had made to the Lord to offer her child back to God. The result was her prayer being answered. I’ve had occasions where I’m screaming my prayers at the Lord; those are raw yet powerful prayers as they lead me to submit to the Lord’s will. When faced with an impossible situations, I’ve learnt that the best route is the Lord’s plan. 

The Lord can take our broken, messy prayers and still understand them. He knows what we are crying out for and can read our hearts and minds even when we don’t make sense. Our words and sentences may be crashing into each other or there may be no words at all, but the Lord hears and sees it all. These stories remind us that we are not alone in journey and that the Lord always answers are prayers even if the answers are unexpected. All he wants is for us to turn to him and ask for wisdom, mercy and for his will to be done in our lives. Be encouraged that your jumbled prayers make sense to Jesus.  

*The name has been changed for privacy here.  

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One area of life that artists are good at tracking is the change of seasons, not just in the natural world around us but in our life seasons as well. In the UK we are heading into springtime but there’s also something in the air of new spiritual season emerging. There’s excitement in the air!

I have been in a wilderness period for a long time; this season of my life has been about pruning and getting rid of things that I no longer need. A time of evaluation, contemplation and preparation in readiness for new life and waiting for opportunities and breakthroughs to come forth. Over the last few months, there have been signs in my life of a new season blowing in; little changes that seem fresh and unfamiliar. Often we feel the advent of a new season before it begins, and I certainly felt this change coming about 18 months ago. Recently, I have been offered some interesting opportunities from my music work; some things that I have waited for a long time to be asked to do. They are only small opportunities, but I realised the other day, that a prophetic word that I was given 5 years ago was beginning to show signs of fruition through these requests.

When we enter a new season, the old way of doing things no longer works. We have to move on and try new ways of doing things. The pandemic opened up a world of online concerts, church services and meetings in a way that we hadn’t experienced before. This for me was the turning point as I have been able to meet new people via Zoom without having to travel. It presented a new way of doing something I was well used to, but I had to change the way I worked to make it happen. It has broadened my audience and made meeting new audiences much easier for me.

These new music opportunities have made me excited about my work for the first time in a very long time! And I’m holding on to the things that God promised me many years ago and that he will complete the work that he started in me. Whenever new growth appears, we need to remember not to take our old wilderness mindset into the new season. For me, that means holding on to the fact that things are changing for the better and that there are great things around the corner! So rejoice with me, my season is changing! There is a season for everything, and this is a season to grow and flourish.