The Process

This is from a devotion book I picked up today and it is great!

Allow God to shape you

"We are the clay, and You our Potter." Isaiah 64:8 NKJV

Imagine a beautiful china teacup saying: "I wasn't always like this. There was a time when I was just a cold, hard, colorless lump of clay. One day the potter picked me up and said, 'I could do something with this.' Then he started to put pressure on me and change my shape. I said, 'What are you doing? That hurts. Stop!' But he said, 'Not yet.' Then he put me on a wheel and began to spin me around and around until I shouted, 'Let me off.' He replied, 'Not yet.' Then he shaped me into a cup and put me in a hot oven. I cried, 'Let me out of here, I'm suffocating.' But he looked at me and said, 'Not yet.' When he took me out, I thought his work on me was over, but then he started to paint me. I couldn't believe what he did next. He put me back into the oven, and I said, 'I can't stand this, please let me out!' But he said, 'Not yet.' Finally he took me out of the oven and set me on a shelf where I thought he had forgotten me. Then one day he took me off the shelf and held me up before a mirror. I couldn't believe my eyes. I had become a beautiful teacup that everyone wants to buy."

There are things going on in your life today that you don't understand. When you finally get to the place God wants you to be, you'll realize that He has been making you into a vessel He can use, bless, and use to bless others. So, allow God to shape you!

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WOW! I am in that process right now and I am certain that many of you are too. I don't understand the place that God has me in. I have felt alienated, distanced - if you will - from the world around me. I can't describe it. But, something has been stirring in my spirit and I feel the Potter's hand in my life through this uncomfortable time. I may lack understanding, but He has given me peace.

Have you ever walked by a store window and something in particular catches your eye? Maybe something beautiful like this teacup. It just stands out... It could be that that one item was recently in the process saying, "What are you doing? Stop! That hurts!" But, the Master...the Potter kept hard at work creating what He wanted it to be. And it is set apart now, catching your attention in a store window.

That is what we are called to be as Christians...Set Apart. Separated from the world around us. Different. Our Potter knows our potential. He wants to shape all of His children into something beautiful that can be used for His glory. We just have to surrender and be a willing vessel.

Don't fight the process. It is uncomfortable. I am there right now! But, if we beg him to stop because it isn't pleasant, He may just listen to us. Then, what would we miss out on?

Please comment! I love your feedback! God bless...