YOU ARE A WORK IN PROGRESS

SATURDAY 17 JULY 2021

As Christians, we can live our lives and fulfil our highest purpose in Christ when we acknowledge the remarkable truth that we are God's handiwork and He progressively works on us, in us and through us to cause all things pertaining our lives to align with His purpose.

Reference: Jeremiah 18:5 New International Version (NIV)

'Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, "Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel."'

A word from the Lord came to Jeremiah saying, "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message. So Jeremiah went down to the potter's house, and saw the potter working at the wheel. 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 (see Jeremiah 18:1-4 NIV).

We have a lot to learn from these Scriptures. First, we must understand that as Christians, we are like clay in the hand of our real Potter and Maker. Second, we are a work in progress. Third, when Jeremiah saw the potter working at the wheel, he noticed that the very pot the potter was shaping was marred in His hands, which means that the appearance of the clay pot was disfigured or impaired. Fourth, the potter was so good that he knew how to convert the disfigured clay and shape it into another pot, which turned out to be the best version. And fifth, every situation in your Christian life serves a purpose in God's divine agenda. Every unfavourable situation, just like the marred clay, is not a waste, rather its useful in God's plan in shaping you as seems best to Him.

God says, "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand." This means that by accepting Jesus as Lord and submitting to His Lordship, you have become His handiwork. The Bible says, For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10 NIV). We are wonderfully and exceptionally fitted in God's timetable, plan and purpose, created to do what He has arranged for us in advance. Acknowledging this truth simply means that you've let the real Potter have His way in you and through you. The golden news is that our potter is the precious Holy Spirit and His concept in moulding or shaping us according to divine plan is found in 2 Corinthians 3:18: "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (NASB).

Beloved, we are work in progress. For instance, we are daily used by God in the atmosphere of good works to accomplish His eternal purpose. 1 Corinthians 3:9 (ESV) reads, "We are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building." God is building us daily through the Holy Spirit at work in us. Philippians 1:6 (ESV) also reads, "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Just as the clay fulfils the purpose of the potter when it remains ductile in the hands of the potter, so are we in the hands of God. We must learn to yield to the Holy Spirit always, so He can mould and shape us to fit into the very purpose for which God has called us.

Having observed the potter working closely at the wheel, Jeremiah took notice that the very pot the potter was shaping was marred in His hands, yet the potter wasn't moved. Why? It's because the potter always knew what to do to. He wasn't disturbed or perturbed by the ugly appearance of the clay, when it was disfigured. This is the same with our Christian life. There is no life's situation or circumstance we find ourselves in, that the Holy Spirit doesn't know what to do about it. No matter your condition, the Spirit of God will remould and reshape you to become "God's best for you." He can shape the recovery of sight for the blind, set the oppressed free and restore the confidence of the disheartened and depressed.

Paul noted, "And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28 NIV). This means that - like clay in the hand of the potter - so are you who love God and are called according to His purpose. No matter the condition, the Lord knows how to work it out for your good by forming it into a glorious version, and using the situation to shape you as seems best for His purpose. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Proverbs 4:18; Romans 8:29-30; Philippians 3:12-14; Hebrews 6:1; 1 Peter 2:2; 1 Timothy 4:15; 2 Peter 3:18.

Exuberant Declaration:

I am God's perfect handiwork; His new creation programmed and supported by His divine plan in progress. As I behold the glory of the Lord face to face, mirrored in the person of Christ in me, I'm constantly moulded into His glorious image and my life is shaped in line with God's perfect will to suit His eternal purpose. Hallelujah!