He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
There is freedom from my sins. There is healing for the deep pains in my soul. The doors are thrown open.
The only problem is ... I just sit there and look at the open door. I don't walk through. It is like I am some dumb animal that refuses to go out of the barn and into the daylight. Why, oh why, do we sit in our pain rather than running to God.
Run. Run to the LORD. Embrace the promise and Live!
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.
For a job I used to have to dig around foundations of homes. And around here I would dig through a lot of clay soil. Sometimes I would make a sculpture out of the clay. Usually it would just be a face or head.
The clay was dirty and full of rocks and organic materials like grass and rotting stuff. So it would be rather interesting when it dried. If you wanted to use the clay for *real* would you would have to clean it.
So you lay the clay out in the sun until it completely dried. Then you would take a hammer and smash it to dust. Then pass that though a couple of fine mesh screens throwing out the stones and sticks. Until all that was left was a very fine powder.
Then put all the fine powder in a bucket and mix in water. And mix it all up and agitate it. Slowly the rest of the organic material would float to the top so you could skim it off. Clean the water a couple more times and then let it set overnight.
The next day pour off the excess water and thoroughly work the clay with your hands and a cutter.
Now the clay is ready.
That is what it sometimes feels like when God is getting us ready to be molded by His hands. We are the clay and He is the potter.
When You Lie Down ... 2 Thessalonians 3, 1 Timothy 1-2
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
When you are getting smashed into power ... God may not feel like the Lord of peace.
When you are being strained out until you feel like everything that was "you" have been taken away ... God may not feel close to you.
But as God adds the healing water to wash away our sins. To put us back together. As His hands reach into our innermost being. As He shapes us into the vessels for His holy use.
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