May 14, 2007

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  Okay …. see up there …. Count Your Blessings!  God is good…and even though things don’t always go as we planned, and we fall short in so many ways …. He is ever faithful to His own!  I have been falling very short this past week, and living a little bit stressed, with all that’s going on here at home, along with the fact that my DH and son are leaving for CA this Thursday …. but through it all, He has shown me His faithfulness!  I know I haven’t been on here much lately, but I’ve had a week+ that has stetched me into a deeper walk of faith in God … and by no means is it easy … maybe that’s because I’m not willingly offering myself up to Him for that change … I sometimes struggle against it … but, I need to learn to be pliable in God’s hands … just as clay is in the potter’s hands! 

  What Shall The Clay Say?

  Have you ever had the opportunity to watch someone take a lump of clay and fashion it with their hands and make something beautiful?  It truly is an amazing thing.  I took classes in school, and loved working with clay, I could form and shape it into anything that I needed it for.  I have watched the clay on the potter’s wheel a few times and never once did I hear the clay give instructions to the potter or advise what it wanted to be!

  As Isaiah wrote,

  “Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!
  Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth.
  Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it,
  What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?”
  (Isaiah 45:9).

  We are all like that clay when it comes to being molded into what the Lord wants us to be.  I wonder how many times we have been rebellious and complained to the Lord regarding the method that He was using in the shaping process?  You know… “Lord, why am I going through this trial?  I have been faithful, I have been obedient, this is just not fair.”  Often, we pray for the Lord to use us, we pray that we want our relatives and loved ones saved, and we pray that we can be more like Jesus.  When the Lord answers our prayers and begins to shape us into a tool that can be used to reach the world, we are quick to yell, “Hands off! That hurts!”

  When a potter begins to make an object, he wraps his hands around the clay as it spins, and then squeezes the clay so it will begin to take shape.  The same holds true for each born-again believer.  The Lord has taken us out of the pit, or the sinful life, then began the creation process.

  As the psalmist wrote,

  “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit,
  out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock,
  and established my goings”.
  (Psalms 40:2). 

  I have seen the hand of the Lord squeeze people and make their life a beautiful work of praise and glory.  They have endured the process and now shine ever so brightly for their Savior.  No, the squeezing process was not easy to endure, but they trusted the potter and allowed Him to shape their faith, their walk, and their heart.  I want to shine like that!  I have also seen people remove the potter’s hand from their life and end up as a useless lump of clay that had no impact on their world.  I don’t want to grieve my Saviour like that! 

  If we could learn to keep our mouths shut and our hearts pliable and open as we go through the molding process, we might be able to see what is being performed in our life, we might see the hand of God upon us, and we might even notice that we are being changed to be more like Him.  The Lord does not make any mistakes. His will is perfect, His word is pure, and He desires the best for us.

  As Jeremiah reminded us,

  “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,
  saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil,
  to give you an expected end”.
  (Jeremiah 29:11).

  It makes me wonder:

    Do I trust the Potter with my life?
    Do I trust Him when my world seems to be falling down around me?
    Do I believe He has a special purpose for my life and He is trying to mold me into something beautiful?

  Then Isaiah reminds me,
  
  “But now, O LORD, thou art our father;
  we are the clay, and thou our potter;
  and we all are the work of thy hand”
  (Isaiah 64:8).
  
  Oh how I love this verse!  My Father is in charge and I am not.  The clay has no right to complain about being turned from a pile of mud into a beautiful, priceless work of art.  Yes, there are times that being squeezed is uncomfortable; it is part of the process.  Yes, there are times when the kiln is so hot that I don’t think I can make it through.  This is where I am being tried by fire; the clay has been glazed and will come out shining.  The anointing on my life should cause me to glow and grow for Jesus.

  Peter said,

  “That the trial of your faith,
  being much more precious than of gold that perisheth,
  though it be tried with fire,
  might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ”
  (1 Peter 1:7).

  Let’s pray that we bring Him glory by praise, instead of shame by complaining about the process we may be going through in our lives right now!  He is faithful and will complete the work He started if we would only allow Him to.
  What shall the clay say to that?

  
  

   The Vessel

  Your hands are upon me Lord,
  As you mold me into what you desire me to be.
  You have taken me from a lump of clay,
  And formed me into something of beauty.

  Through the work of your hands, Lord,
  I am being fashioned into something that pleases your eye
  And I know in order for my clay to be soft,
  The works of the flesh must continue to die.

  Through the trials of fire I am perfected,
  And by the washing of the Word the clay is made clean.
  I want to be able to shine for your Glory,
  That through my life your cross will be seen.

  May this vessel of clay glorify you,
  Throughout each and every day.
  For just as the scriptures have said in your Word
  You are the Potter and I am the clay.

  What an honor to be part of your collection,
  Of all the vessels you have on your shelf.
  You have taken something that was worthless,
  And made me into something of great beauty and wealth.

  For each and every one of your vessels
  Was molded carefully by your hand.
  And each vessel has a special purpose,
  It is all part of your perfect plan.

  ~ Author Unknown ~

  I’ll continue how my past week went, and what’s coming up for this one, in the next post!  I really would appreciate all of your prayers as we get them ready to leave Thursday, and for a safe trip there, and for my husbands flight home.
  In the meantime, you all be blessed, and have a beautiful day, count your blessings, and, … stay pliable … it’s not always easy, but it hurts so much less!

  Hugs,
  ~ Deborah 

   I’m also to let you all know, that the theme at BetsaflyGallery for this week is “Scenery”, and entries have been uploaded, and posted!  I was blessed to get one entered and ”hung” in the Gallery this week, as well!  Go see all the other beautiful entries…and if any of you are interested, you can find all the information you need to enter your own photos right there on her site! 

  • 10:48 pm
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