My neighbor/friend said to me today,
I like that you follow your dreams
That has not always been the case
I have had many disappointments that have led me to this place
To follow your own dreams
and the dreams that were designed for you by God
are not always the same
Several years ago, I heard the Lord say, “I am going to strip you.”
I wasn’t praying, just doing things around the house,
but I heard those words loud and clear,
not audibly, but I knew it was God
and I knew there was nothing I could say
What could I say?
No, Lord, don’t do that, that doesn’t sound fun?
If God says He’s going to do something, that’s how it is,
after all, I gave my life to Him a long time ago
and agreed to who knows what when I did that
I knew what He meant:
The flesh was going to be lacking
and it was going to be unpleasant until, until it was over
No pain, no gain as they say
I have a lot of imperfections, then and now,
and I’m sure it was a necessary process
I thought of all the things I would lose
and was trying to prepare myself for those
and imagine how I would just have to deal with them
I did not understand as much as I thought I did
I knew it would be some people, some things.
I thought of Job
I wasn’t worried I would get boils, but he lost everything, just about
The one thing he did not lose was his relationship with and respect for God
Jesus told Peter:
And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you,
that he may sift you as wheat:
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not:
and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee,
both into prison, and to death.
And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day,
before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. Luke 22:31-34
I felt much the same, yeah, I got this,
won’t be that hard, I can stand for Jesus
Not on my own
This took a lot of yielding and giving in, not doing things my way
Losing anything and everything I could hang my hat on
We truly are nothing without Him
What we do or are for Jesus makes a difference in this world
All the rest is wood, hay and stubble
These lyrics are from a song called: So Glad
I had laid some mighty plans,
Thought I held them in my hands.
Then my world began to crumble all away.
I tried to build it back again;
I couldn’t bear to see it end,
How it hurt to know You wanted it that way.
And I’m so glad,
Glad to find the reason,
That I’m happy-sad
That You’ve torn it all away,
And I’m so glad,
Though it hurts to know I’m leaving
Everything I ever thought that I would be.
Once I held it in my hand.
It was a kingdom made of sand.
But now You’ve blown it all away.
I can’t believe that I can say,
That I’m glad.
Long before my plans were made,
I know a master plan was laid,
With a power that superseded my control.
And if that truth could pierce my heart,
I wouldn’t wander from the start,
Trying desperately to make it on my own.
If you think of a piece of furniture and the stripping process,
you have to get the old stuff off, the color, the varnish, all the decaying matter to get down to the pure wood
It takes a lot of sanding and inspecting
to make sure you get all of the gunk out of the cracks and crevices
The wood is naked, stripped, without any covering,
then, you can add the proper color and varnish to bring it to new life
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth.
Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it,
What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?
Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou?
or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker,
Ask me of things to come concerning my sons,
and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.
I have made the earth, and created man upon it:
I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens,
and all their host have I commanded.
I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways:
he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives,
not for price nor reward, saith the Lord of hosts. Isaiah 45:9-13
Trying to impress isn’t going to work
The best way to make God happy is to be clay in His hands
To let Him mold you
and let Him take away all the excess
that is not part of His plan for your life
It is hard to figure that out sometimes:
He is the potter and we are the clay