A Joyful Mission

A Woman of Strength – Mother Mary (Our Lady of Sorrows)

Photo by Carlos Alberto Sanches on Pexels.com

Our Mother Mary was a simple girl, born into a poor, peasant, Jewish family who lived in Nazareth and was engaged to Joseph, who was a carpenter. Before her marriage to Joseph, she was visited by the angel, Gabriel who told her that she as going to carry and give birth to the Son of God while she was still a virgin. She was to name Him, Jesus. Joseph was also visited by an angel and told of God’s plan to have Mary be the mother of His Son, Jesus meaning, “He will save His people from their sins.” and he was to take her as his wife in which he did.

Those days of Mary and Joseph’s time was not like it is today. We have no concept of the scandal of what Mary and Joseph were asked to do especially during that time frame. The whispers and the rumors that they had to endure simply because they did God’s will. We have no idea of the strength that it must have taken to say “Yes” to God.

Did Mother Mary know that approximately thirty-three years later, that she would have to stand at the foot of the cross and witness the most atrocious killing of a man who was put to death simply because He was a King and the Son of God that the people rejected?

Did Mother Mary’s heart and body and soul weep like we do when we see an injustice act carried out, all because our God dared to come down to Earth and send to us the Son of Man in order to save our souls?

Yet she stood by that cross and grieved and wept and mourned and still had hope in God’s plan for a future that she could not see. She stood in faith and trust at that time without knowing how any of it could be redeemed or changed.

It is through her strength that Mother Mary teaches us that we can still stand in the midst of the craziness in this world without understanding the meaning or purpose and still know that when we put our trust and faith in God, He will show us the way out. She teaches us to stand and be brave when our hearts are breaking because we know that our God goes ahead of us to save us from what’s ahead and what we cannot yet see will happen. She teaches us to stand and be faithful in our sorrows because she came to know that the rain will stop when the storm ends. She teaches us to stand and keep praying for the strength to go on when we have nothing left because she knows our God through His Son, Jesus. After all, she carried Him, loved Him, taught Him and watched Him die on that cross and yet, had hope because He rose from the grave three days later. That, my friend, is a true woman of strength.

What did I learn from this? I’ve learned that with sorrow can come joy. I’ve learned that I am stronger when I lean on my faith in God and I know that He will carry me through. I know that pain of loss and the joy of discovery while certainly not to the point of our Mother Mary but I can empathize with her in what she went through. She has taught me to not take my eyes off of Jesus and that even when there are things that I struggle with, she points the way to what it truly means to live a faithful life. She is the model that we all should strive to be in this life that we live in now, by showing us that the strength to stand up and keep going comes from trusting in God’s plan and not our own.

So, what can you gain from this? It’s never easy to be strong in the midst of our struggles. Sometimes, all we see are the scars that we carry and not the strength that it is taking us to keep going. Our God sees you, though. He knows your heart and knows that your soul may long for peace and acceptance and an unconditional love that accepts you as you are but never leaves you there. Realize that you too can be a woman or man of strength. Just stand up and have some faith that our God will get you there.

He Stepped Out of the Boat

Matthew 14: 22-33 is the story of Jesus walking on the water and Peter stepping out of the boat to join Him. Peter was in a boat with the other disciples after the feeding of the five thousand with the multiplication of the bread and fish. That boat was in the midst of a terrible storm when the disciples see Jesus walking across the water toward them. Of course, they were frightened and thought that it was a ghost, but Jesus tells them to not be frightened and that it is He who is walking on the water toward them. In this passage, Peter asks Jesus to call him out into the water and allow him to walk toward Jesus but then he becomes frightened and begins to sink, Jesus holds onto him, gets in the boat and He calms the waves.

I don’t know how many times that I have heard and read that passage. I thought that I knew it pretty well but it was something that my sister, Kathy, said to me that really made me think. Kathy has a group of ladies who do a Bible study together and Kathy was talking to her friend because she was going to miss that particular meeting in person but was able to connect over the phone on that day. Later, Kathy told me that the friend that she was talking to mentioned about Peter and that particular miracle. You see, I had tended to focus on the fact that Peter ended up sinking after he walked briefly on the water, but Kathy’s friend had stated that we need to remember that Peter stepped out of the boat. Whoa!! I had never, ever thought of it quite like that before!

Now, why is that such an important point to remember? It helped me to realize that it took Peter a certain level of courage and definitely trust to do something that only Jesus could do, that is, walk on water! How many of us would have been too afraid to even step out of the boat? Here’s me, waving my hand in the air!

That’s life and our reaction to everyday things that scare us to death. We don’t often have the courage to take what God says that He will do on faith. We struggle to wait on His providence. We worry about the timing of what He’s telling us that He’s going to do for us. We often feel that we cannot rest and let God handle what is worrying us. We sink because we don’t trust that God will ALWAYS show us a better way. Our God provides our every need, but first we have to do like Peter and step out of the boat. I’m truly beginning to really know and truly understand that our God will handle it from there.

What did I learn from this? I get it. It’s hard to trust something that you cannot see. It’s hard to lay everything that you are on God’s alter and then back away. There’s that part of me that wants to snatch up that dream that I laid on that alter and yell at Him for taking too long. However, what I’m starting to see, instead, is that God is teaching me to be courageous and trust in His way of doing things. He is teaching me to have faith in the process even while I am afraid. Yeah, I get it, but what I am also finding is a strength that I never knew that I had within me and it’s all because I know that He believes in who I can become through this journey. (Related post: A Leap of Faith)

So, what can you gain from this? Take a look at your own struggles with whatever in life is weighing you down. Are you willing to give it to God and let Him show you a better way? I will say that the first step towards deciding to let go and let God is ALWAYS the hardest, then once you do it, you realize that God had a better way all along. It only gets better from that point on when you give all of those struggles to Him to carry, instead. So, go ahead and step out of the boat… be like Peter and trust that God will be there to catch you. (Related post: “Letting Go and Letting God”)

In Service to Others

As a Christian, it has been stated in various ways how others may or may not perceive us and how they view our love of our God and Savior. Some will see us as enjoyable to be around and converse with freely or they may feel intimidated by the strength of our faith and yet others will see us as condemning and judgmental or even unworthy of their time. However you look at Christianity and Christians, our goal should always be, first and foremost, to serve the Lord and in service to the Lord, we also must serve others.

For me, I love to hear someone else talk about their experiences or preach about the Good Word because those messages have a tendency to show me something different that I may not have considered while I am on my own journey of faith. However, there are so many people who are not to that point, so when they hear preaching about God, they tune out or walk away.

Of course, giving our service to others is not an easy task to undertake at times especially if some of those that we serve don’t have a favorable opinion of Christianity, in the first place. So, how can we serve when that is the case? We serve them through our actions. It’s what we are doing and showing them while we are serving that tells a different tale and truly demonstrates the love of our God. We give our service through loving them and meeting them where they are. We give our service by listening and demonstrating an understanding that their feelings may be valid based on what they have gone through. We give our service through praying with them, if they chose, and praying for them after they have moved on, even if they had rejected that prayer before. We give our service through gently guiding them in their quest to change, if that is what they want, not by condemning but by helping them to find better ways to handle their pain and anger and disappointments that have come to them in life.

In our service to others, it must not be with an expectation of payment or glory or fame. We have to look closely at our own motives for sharing our faith in God to others on a constant basis. We must make sure that we don’t let our own personal greed or our desires to be recognized/famous or by having an inflated ego be the reason that we serve others. Our service to God is and should be about being of service to His people. When we choose a different path and we do our service based more on our glory instead of God’s glory, then that is when we risk being hypocritical and do more harm than good.

What did I learn from this? I know that I must constantly be open to learning new things whether it be about myself or about others and understanding what motivates them. I have to be careful to not be judgmental towards others, especially the lost sheep of God’s flock. Yes, they may have turned away deliberately from God but I have to ask God to give me a spirit of wisdom and discernment in speaking with others and in learning about their own journey in life. It’s not for me to judge where they end up, but I can try to help them with guidance if that is what the Holy Spirit wants me to do. All through that? I have to be in constant prayer, as well. As a child of God, I cannot do anything less. (Related post: Where there is faith, there must also be works)

So, what can you learn from this? Examine your faith and how you are open to sharing it. We don’t often realize that in our exuberance of sharing our faith, we may instead be driving others away. That’s not always a bad thing, though. It may be that God is protecting you from those who don’t see what you see or even have turned away from you because of the strength of your faith.

Whatever happens, continue to be joyful in serving the Lord. Don’t let anyone dim your shine but do ask Him for His guidance and wisdom so that you too can help be of service to others in the name of God. You never know how or even who you may be impacting through your service to His people. (Related post: God Calls Us to Scatter Joy Like Seeds to Others)

We Are ALL Broken Inside

To be human is to be broken. As children and adults, we should have love and joy and care, but that’s not always true, is it? Bad things can happen to us no matter our age or circumstance, race or creed, religion or status in life. Those incidents can be singular acts or repetitive acts or even different cumulative acts. Those incidents may include things outside of our control like war or natural disasters or abuse in any form. Some things that we go through can become disabling to how we even function in life.

In our brokenness, we may turn to food, drugs, alcohol, sex or anything that keeps us from feeling what we are feeling. It is very hard for us to recognize that those things that we have turned to instead are really just temporary bandages that lead to more sores and more pain in the long run. They only mask the pain for a while but never truly heal what’s broken inside. Then we end up needing more and more of it just to get us through. It certainly is a vicious cycle, until we begin to see that there is something out there that can and will heal what is broken inside.

Yes, you can be healed and redeemed and made new!

The world doesn’t want us to know this but we really, really need Jesus! He died on that cross and rose from the grave so that we can all be made new in Him! He takes us just as we are and never, EVER leaves us there. He loves and forgives us in all of our brokenness. He is the only one who can take all of our pain away. Our past doesn’t matter to Him. It’s the right now that matters, instead. When we ask Jesus into our heart and soul, we are washed clean and we are then given a brand-new heart that begins to believe and know and understand that we can truly be given love and joy and care in this world.

What did I learn from this? I was broken and lost but He found me. I was afraid and consumed with anger and grief but He healed me. I know that He lives in me because He walks and talks with me everyday. He never leaves my side and will send His angels to protect me from harm. Our Jesus doesn’t see me as the world sees me, He sees my love and joy and care that I now try to share with the world. That’s my Jesus!

So, what can you gain from this? The first step away from the world and towards Jesus isn’t easy. I’m not going to lie to you about that. The world hates God and His Son, Jesus, and will do everything that they can to keep you broken and afraid. I need you to know that when you ask Jesus into your life, then you are made so much stronger than you have ever believed because you have the blood of Jesus within you. Realize too that He has a plan for your future and in ways that you may have never even imagined or even hoped for. Isn’t that something to look forward to? All it takes for you to be healed is for you to invite Him in. It’s as simple as that.

A Temporary Assignment

I’m not sure how many people are like me in this but all of my adult life has been about having mostly temporary jobs (I say that only because a majority of them lasted at least 3-5 years) before I was itching to move on to something different. The longest stretch that I had was working as a Special Education Teacher for fifteen and a half years. I remember thinking at that time when I started that job, my thinking became “Finally, this is where I’m meant to be for the rest of my life!”.

That turned out to be a big fat…. NOPE!!

The thing is, is that I had thought that there was something wrong with me and that was why I couldn’t settle. However, in looking back now, I understand that each job was just a temporary assignment in each position so that once I had learned all that I needed to learn then God could move me to the next position to learn more. You see, our God had a plan for my life and He has a plan for your life, as well. He wants to prosper us but we have to open ourselves up to Him for that growth to truly happen. It can be a painful process that can feel like failure, initially, but it isn’t. (Related post: Accepting failure is actually the key to success)

When you are going through those struggles, it’s not necessarily that there is something wrong with you, but it’s that our God has a bigger purpose for you and in your life. Along the way, you are learning some amazing life lessons. Perhaps those lessons aren’t always wonderful but those same lessons can help form you into the new person that God wants you to become. We, however, don’t always see that part of it or at least don’t perceive that that was His purpose all along, at least, not right away. When we learn to accept that God is with us in our journey and is guiding us through those times, that is when we really begin to see His hand in our life.

What did I learn from this? I am so much stronger because I know that God is there with me every step of the way. Was it difficult? Yes! Did I want to give up at times? YES!! Has it been worth it in the long run? YES!!!

The other thing is that I am humbled by my circumstances as well. Knowing that God loves me that much, makes me want to just do more for Him as well as encourage others to get to know that same sort of joy that I have. (Related post: Adjust…. Accordingly)

So, what can you learn from this? God NEVER, EVER said that following Him would be easy. I think that when you do begin to feel that joy, you begin to realize that it cannot be replicated with earthly things.

Maybe your journey has had many ups and downs, or twists and turns. Perhaps you think that you have nothing to offer and are ashamed of what you have done it the past. That’s okay because our God meets you right where you are and He doesn’t hold that against you. Also, remember that He never leaves you where you are or even were. He has special plans for you, so don’t let your fear of feeling unworthy keep you from reaching out for Him. You can call on Him at anytime. Remember this verse when you decide to make that call. It comes from Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Once you do that, then you too will have a testimony to share with others. (Related post: Traversing the hills and valleys of life with grace)

The Epic Battle for Our Souls

There is a battle brewing and it’s been brewing for quite some time. Have you ever wondered why this is so?

Before I start on that point, I did a little bit of research first. I typed in the following statement, “the definition of a human soul”. According to the AI Overview, it stated that, “A human soul is the immaterial essence, spiritual principle, or animating life-force of an individual person.” It goes on to separate this definition into headings and then further describes a soul in general and philosophical definitions like: Essence of Life; Mind and Will; and Platonic View. In addition, it describes our souls in Religious and Theological Views, such as: Christianity and Judaism; Eastern Traditions; and Science.

Then another question came up and was asked in AI, “What is a human soul according to the Bible?”. The AI Overview answers with the following, “According to the Bible, a human soul is the entire living person, formed from when a physical body receives the breath of life from God.” Then that information is expanded on from there and you can go and do a whole lot of research if you choose to learn more about the subject.

My point to all of this information about our souls though comes back to my original question, which is… why is there such an epic battle brewing for our souls? I have some thoughts on that.

I believe that it all comes down to a battle of good versus evil or if, you will, a battle of God (all that is good, right and holy) versus the Devil (all that is dark, evil and unholy). You see, our God wants us to live with Him when our time on Earth is done; on the flip side, the Devil is fighting against that with everything that he has. Our earthly bodies will go away but the essence of who we are (our souls) will go somewhere when our body dies. The choices that we have are either Heaven or Hell. Guess what? The time to make that particular decision is now while you have the chance.

This leads me to another point, I once saw a video on YouTube with a preacher or a speaker who was holding a very long rope that went off to the side. On the end that he was holding was a section of perhaps only a foot or so that was painted red. The man stated something like the following: “This rope represents you and your soul. This red “short” part is what represents your time on Earth. What you do during your time on Earth depends on where your soul goes after.” I liked that representation because it shows us visually and is a reminder that we only have a very, very, VERY short time on Earth to decide where we would like our soul to go in the afterlife.

So, my question is very simple, do you want to go to Heaven and be with God where there is light and love or would you rather spend an eternity burning in Hell? The choices that you make during this short time needs to be thought through very carefully. Not everybody gets a second chance to change their ways. I do believe that our God will show you where you are going if you ask. However, only do so if you are prepared to understand how you got to that point in the first place. Remember also that our God gives us free will. Your choice of going to Heaven or Hell is based on the choices that you decided to make while you were here on Earth and understand that He’s just honoring those choices. The power to change your ways is within you and I sure can tell you where I would rather be. (Related post: For the Love of Our Soul)

What did I learn from this? This topic has made me think very hard about what I am doing now on Earth and what I want to continue to do as I get older. It also has made me consider what I’ve done in the past that I cannot go back and have a “do-over”, if you will. Those lessons are why I write this blog. I am continuing to learn about grace, forgiveness (of myself as well as of and for others), loving my neighbor and loving our God. I am learning that my growth isn’t done as long as I am able to wake up each and every day until I take my last breath. (Related post: My dad always said that “You can’t woulda, shoulda, coulda…..”)

So, what can you gain from this? As a people, we need to always consider how what we do affect others as well as ourselves. Is that easy? No, of course not! If it was easy, we wouldn’t need to be constantly reminded about it, would we?

The point that I want to make here is that we always have choices in this life. Yes, there are things that we cannot control like weather and storms and conflicts (and the lists go on). We certainly cannot control what other people do but we can control our own thoughts and feelings and emotions. Look within and really think about why you do what you do then vow to change your storyline. Who knows, perhaps you will turn that page and find a happier you to share with the world. (Related posts: Jehovah Rapha-Name of God)

When Pride Stands in the Way of Our Progress

According to the AI Overview, “In the Bible, pride is defined as an attitude of self-sufficiency, arrogance and self-exaltation that puts oneself above God. It is viewed as a fundamental sin that blinds people to their faults, causes division, and leads to spiritual sin.” This is a very serious part that, if we don’t correct, can slow our progress within the Kingdom of God.

Adversely, when you look up the word pride without the reference to the Bible, the word pride is painted in a somewhat more “innocent” way of looking at it. AI Overview stated it as the following: “The real meaning of pride depends on the context. At it’s core, it is a healthy sense of personal self- respect and satisfaction in who you are. However, it also describes negative arrogance, or a powerful communal movement against shame.” At the core, not so innocent, after all.

So, how is it that having pride can stand in the way of our progress? We have to look at it a little more closely to understand that part of it.

Realize that we can be proud of our accomplishments in this world and during our lifetime. That is completely understandable. After all, the goal of going through this life is to grow in who you are as a person and who you are wanting to become. In other words, it is good to make positive progress through living our lives in a more Godly manner. In order to understand if you are letting pride stand in the way of your progress is to ask yourself the following questions: 1) Am I thinking more of myself than I am thinking of others in the things that I am doing?, and 2) Am I getting closer to God in my journey through life or am I getting further away, instead? (Related post: How is having pride different from being proud?)

The problem occurs when we think more highly of ourselves than the God that we serve. We begin to let our ego rule our emotions and we start to lean on our own thoughts and ideas as being more important than what God wants from us and for us. In addition, we begin to have an inability to admit our faults which keeps us from the progress of being truly successful, as well as, ultimately keeping us from having a relationship with God in the long-term. Let’s look at it in a little bit different way. It’s like when our car breaks down on the side of the road and there is no one around who can help us. This is where we have to realize that God didn’t abandon us, instead, it is us who abandoned Him. (Related post: Beware Of The Ego Trap!)

So, what can we do about our pride so that it doesn’t take us away from God? We need to look within and humble ourselves. We have to admit to ourselves and to others what our faults are. It’s difficult to apologize when we hurt others, but at the core, we also need to see that we have done so and then tell others that we are sorry for hurting them through our actions. We have to change our actions and think about what we want our future to look like, because progress in our spiritual journey stops when we let our pride get in the way.

What did I learn from this? We all tend to let our pride get in the way, at times, especially when we don’t want to hear that we did something wrong. Been there!! Done that! Especially when I was younger. It doesn’t mean that I don’t still have problems with it now, at times. It’s our human nature to make mistakes. I do try to cut myself some slack there, but I know that until I apologize or even correct it, that action that I did will just sit in the back of my mind.

So, to help with that, I am in constant prayer to and with God. Luckily, our God doesn’t hold things over our head like humans do. He forgives us and then forgets it. When we consistently show that we are trying our best, our God knows that. That makes me feel pretty lucky that He loves me that much!

So, what can you gain from this? Take those two questions that I asked you to consider earlier and really think about what I am talking about in this post. If either of those answers come to be that you are thinking of yourself more than you are thinking of God, then you know what you need to do. I’m not going to lie and tell you that taking the Godly approach will be easy because it won’t. The Devil really hates it when you turn away from him and turn yourself toward God, instead. Just remember though that when you seek God and seek what He wants for you, He will send you His Angels in Heaven to watch over you and protect you and then you will become all the more stronger because of it.

“Letting Go and Letting God”

There was once a little poem that I carried around with me when I was in my twenties and for the life of me, I cannot remember what happened to it. It’s about that very statement of “Letting Go and Letting God” without those exact words. I do have a terrible memory for some things but I remember the end part of that poem, though. The lead in to that portion is that it goes something like this at the end of the poem (partly paraphrased): I brought my broken dreams to God “and snatched them away from Him and said, “My God, why are you so slow?” and He said, “My child, you never did let go.””

Those words, while I am not sure if they are exact, have stayed with me for thirty plus years and through ALL of the many ups and downs, valleys and mountains of my life, so far. We’ve all been there, right? We are broken, beat down, weary and worn out from all of the things and worries and burdens that this world can give to us. We try our best to give all of those to God only to snatch them back from God when He takes some time to heal what is broken within us. We don’t give Him time. We want it right now and exactly the way that we think that it should be, but our God knows us so much better than we think. He also knows exactly what we need AND it will be better than what we even imagined when He is finished, but we refuse to give Him time to do so because we haven’t truly let go.

Consider this though…

Hebrews 11:1 states that, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This means that it takes faith in believing that there is something out there for us that we can’t see but we have hope in our hearts for it. Our God waits for us to trust in Him to deliver what we actually need and not necessarily what we think that we need. It’s that season of waiting and promises and expectations that is the hardest for us to get through. When we let go of our ego, pride, shame, fear and let God do what He says that He will do for us, then all of those things that have kept us down are gone. We have to wait on Him to give us what we need and then we can have peace because we have been faithful through the time of waiting and promises and expectations. I think that’s a good deal! Don’t you agree? (Related post: Jehovah-Jirah: Name of God)

What did I learn from this? Patience and waiting is certainly not always my strong suit but I have learned so much from the many different directions that my life has gone over the last 35-40 plus years. It’s funny, but I can definitely say that I have certainly gained patience while waiting over that time period, as well. Now, I can see that I look through a different lens than what I did than when I was younger. I have learned to do more and more of letting go of things, situations, feelings, etc. and I am certainly more into letting God handle it. I cannot say that I am ALWAYS successful with that but I am definitely more in the 95%-99% range now, so I call that some really good odds, overall. (Related post: An Act of Faith)

So, what can you gain from this? Having faith in something that you cannot see is certainly a gradual thing. It can be a season of struggle as well. If you are struggling with that then I certainly recommend that you find someone that you trust whom you can talk to. I also recommend that you begin to read your Bible. This journey of faith can be lonely at times and can feel isolating but that is God’s doing as well. Your journey is specific to you and not everyone can understand that, nor will they always support you in it, either. Trust me, I know because it happened to me as well.

Just remember this… if you let go of what is keeping you down and let God take over, you will and can be pleasantly surprised by what He will do for you. He loves you and will give you something better than what you had before and that, I do know for a fact, does happen. (Related post: The God of Everything)

A Season of Preparation

I don’t know about anyone else, but I certainly have a hard time in waiting on some things to happen. I know that waiting on whatever it is (that may or will happen) helps me to be more patient in the long run. I know that it is our human condition that has us jumping ahead instead of waiting for that something better to come along if we had only waited a little while longer.

So, when we don’t wait for that “something better”, I believe that we will miss out on what is meant for us. Yeah, it sounds kind of vague, doesn’t it? I am actually doing that on purpose. We ALL have seasons where we have to wait on something that we want but too often we don’t trust our God to give us what we truly need. I think that comes from our insecurities within. Perhaps telling ourselves something like the following: Maybe I’m not worthy of (that job/ that life mate/ having security, etc.) or thinking that God surely couldn’t love ME because of all of the bad things that I’ve done or whatever it is that is keeping us from simply trusting that God is waiting on us to trust Him more.

When we are in a season of preparation, we are waiting on God. It is during that timeframe, especially when we have learned to trust Him more, that it will renew our strength, it will build our obedience and faith in Him, and we begin to trust in God’s wisdom and knowledge on doing what is truly right for us.

Is that easy? Of course not! If it was easy, I think that more of us would wait a little more patiently. I think that it is our human nature that keeps us from trusting so easily especially in a God that we cannot see and for some who think that He doesn’t exist at all. They demand signs and wonders when all we have to do is look around to see God in every facet of our creation. That’s the beauty of who He is. When we wait on God to move then He is preparing us for more than we ever dreamed of. (Related post: When God Promises… He Delivers)

What did I learn from this? Will I still struggle during this season? I’m pretty sure that I will, even as I know that He is preparing me for something bigger and better than I could EVER imagine! So, in the meantime, I will continue to wait on our God through prayer and worship and submission to His will for me. When I take my free will and give it back to God, then I am telling Him that I love and trust in Him and HIS WILL will be enough for me. (Related post: Knowing and Believing)

So, what can you gain from this? This is where you have to look within yourself and see the areas where you need God the most. Will that be easy? No. It’s hard to see the pieces of ourselves that need to be changed. That’s true for ALL humans, so at least you can know that you aren’t alone in your journey of admitting where you need help. However, your journey is also uniquely yours and God knows exactly what you need to prepare in order to change you so that you will get closer to the path that He has for you. Will you trust Him to help you through? That’s a question that only you can answer. (Related post: A New Chapter in the Book of Life)

In the Potter’s Hands

I had the opportunity recently to see some of the process that it takes to make a clay pot. It seems to be a labor intensive process that can take from seven to ten steps depending on the potter’s methods to complete from a mound of clay to the finished product of a bowl, vase, etc. It is also a beautiful process to watch and to see what comes out as the finished product which must be very satisfying for the potter. The potential of that vision started in their head and became a reality through their hard work and dedication. I had looked up some of the steps to making or “throwing” clay and saw that there are many tutorials on how to do so with and without having a wheel. The one that I had observed and the step that I want to concentrate on involves showing how the potter uses the wheel and then takes this lump of clay and begins to open and pull that clay into the shape that they had envisioned. At some of that opening and pulling, one hand is inside the pot and the other hand is on the outside working together to bring that vision to life.

So, why am I talking about this?

I know that all of the steps are an important part of that process, but the opening and pulling of the clay is what our God does with us when He is forming us into the potential that He knows that we can be as He works within us in drawing us closer to Him. Remember the words in Isaiah 64:8, which says “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay and you are the potter. We are all the work of your hands.”

When God opens us up to Him, He helps us to envision something different or even better than what we can imagine for ourselves. It’s certainly not an easy process for us at least! As humans, we like to be in control and take over, maybe even skip a few steps in the process. This is NOT how our God works! We need to trust Him through it. This process of opening and pulling us just like the potter does to the clay takes us choosing to have faith over our fear. God is preparing us for what is to come when He tells us to wait. He is molding us into our potential. Again, this is not easy by any means.

Too many times, we go back to what is comfortable even as we are asking to be removed from it. We have to recognize that we are even doing that within the pattern of our lives and pray about it. However, for things to truly change, we must ultimately choose to give that process to Him who knows us even better than we know ourselves. God doesn’t make mistakes, so trust Him through it. (Related post: The Repetitive Pattern)

What did I learn from this? God’s not done with me. Each day that He wakes me up is a day that can be filled with His purpose and for me to do His will. I sure can say that He has been working with me for a long time to get to this point. Is He done with me? No! In fact, I certainly believe that He will continue to open me and pull me and shape me until the day that He calls me home. I am clay in the Potter’s hands and while it isn’t easy going through those steps some days, in the end, I know that it will be perfect because He is! (Related post: Waiting On The Lord)

So, what can you gain from this? If you ever get a chance, watch a video of how a potter works. This will give you some insight into what our Father does for each of us when we trust in Him to see us through. He loves you and knows you and sees so much potential within you! Do you trust Him to get you to where He knows that you will be the happiest? So, I say, step outside of your comfort zone and trust yourself to what the Potter has planned for you. (Related post: A Leap of Faith)

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