And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
Jeremiah 18:4 ESV
As the potter with the clay… God the Father is with those He created…
When things go wrong… He goes to work… creating what seems good to Him…
But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8 ESV
[Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash]
It is His hands which press… mold… shape us into what He desires… after we’ve allowed the world to have its way with us…
He desires us all… everyone… to love Him… glorify Him… find the joy we were created for in Him…
But the world twists us… into something other than He desires… with its lies… oppressive spirit… and our willingness to agree with all it says…
I think about the necessity to be pressed to be prepared for Communion… with Him… with others…
It’s often a breaking… which needs to take place… to heal… restore… what has been set wrong by the deceptions of the world…
Like a bone set out of place… it doesn’t heal straight… another breaking required by a surgeon… to set it right…
This re-breaking… for re-storing… happens under controlled conditions… careful planning…
Not anything like what the enemy does… when he crashes into our lives… with lies of condemnation… labeling us unworthy… defective… hopeless…
I think on my life… how the enemy used what was… and turned it against me…
you hurt those you love…
if you won’t… then you don’t care…
you don’t fit in…
you always mess it up…
you are not enough…
I see how I was pressed into something so other… often something I never wanted to be… because of the lies…
A list of accusations… however minor… led me to a life I didn’t want…
Leaning into His pressing… embracing it… despite ALL the enemy dishes out… to kill dreams… steal hopes… destroy relationships… is the only way… to true healing…
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice — the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Romans 12:1-2 NLT
Place your bodies in His hands… with will-full obedience…
Prepare your mind… your thoughts… to agree with Him… and not the world…
The transforming… re-creating… begins in the mind… because that’s where the lies linger… echoing thoughts of accusation… guilt… shame…
Knowing who God is… according to His Word… and as revealed by the Word made flesh… Jesus… is the way we come to know who we are… and who He intends us to be in Him…
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
Consider how you’ve been pressed… conformed… by the world…
Is it different than you desire…? than His desire for you…?
Invite His pressing… no matter how pain-full… no matter what He calls you to do… so what has been set wrong by the world… might be set straight… by Him…
Let Him break… what the world… has twisted in you… in order to re-store… make all things right…
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