Sunday, September 6, 2015

What If, part II of II

What If, part II of II
September 7, 2015
Jeremiah 18:4  "But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him."

Since the Lord is the Master Potter and we are His clay, His workmanship, we must submit to Him forming us.  Scripture says that if and when the Lord is forming His clay, He may decide if it is marred and then begin again.  He may glance at His creation and make something else.  Many people think this is a complimentary statement, that the Lord will bring beauty from ashes, making a new creation out of His broken pottery.  This is not so, this could not be farther from the truth of what Scripture was saying.  Yes, the Lord can make beauty out of a broken situation; He can make an awful situation into a glorious one out of your life, but that is not what Scripture meant when it likened you and me to marred pottery.

If you read the  verses after the Bible discusses marred pottery being formed into another pot; it talks about evil, specifically disobedience.  As the Potter is forming His clay (you and me), we have the opportunity to submit to the purpose He intended for us.  This requires obedience.  But if the pot is disobedient, then the Potter has the right to re-purpose it.  The exact words are, "and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it."  This is akin to re-purposing His creations, not because of a poor decision but because of constant and willful disobedience.

Your job is to figure out what He has for you to do, not why He has created you, then do it.  He has for you to do the work in front of you, the task He has already put in front of your face.  There is no secret mystery as to what you are supposed to do; you are to be obedient in the place He has currently placed you.  Refuse to do this and He will reconsider the good He had intended for you.  There is more to the statement about the good the Lord intended for the pottery.  It isn't just limited to the good use He intended for its purpose.  It encompasses all the blessings the Lord intended for that person's life, as well, even eternity.  The Lord WANTS to bless you but cannot bless you when you live in a state of disobedience.  It is contrary to His nature.  When He is forming His creations, He has in mind all the good purposes intended for that person as well as all the blessings that go along with it.  He thought of these things with excitement when He was fashioning you in your mother's womb.  He was ecstatic when you were born, not just because you were born, but because of all the good work you would fulfill as well as all of the blessings you would receive in this life and the next.

If you are looking for a blessing in this life, then know that it must be preceded by obedience.  If you are looking for the Potter to use you for His glory, it must be preceded by obedience.  The two go hand-in-hand.  There cannot be blessing with disobedience.  There cannot be a future for you with disobedience.  The Lord wants to look down from Heaven and speak well over your life.  Don't force Him to re-purpose you and the good He intended for your life.  What if there was more for your life but you are missing it?  What if the Lord intended something completely different than the path you've allowed yourself to travel?

Don't take my word for it; look it up:
  Is 29:16, Is 41:25, Is 45:9, Is 46:10, Is 64:8, Jer 18:1-10, Romans 9:6-21, Eph 1:11, Eph 2:10

No comments: