Allow God To Shape You

Delicate China
Originally uploaded by geishaboy500

We are the clay, and You are the potter.
Isaiah 64:8

Imagine a beautiful china teacup saying: 'I wasn't always like this. There was a time when I was just a cold, hard lump of clay. One day the potter picked me up and said, "I could do something with this." Then he started to put pressure on me and change my shape. I said, "What are you doing? That hurts. Stop!" But he said, "Not yet." Then he put me on a wheel and began to spin me around and around until I shouted, "Let me off." He replied, "Not yet." Then he shaped me into a cup and put me in a hot oven. I cried, "Let me out of here, I'm suffocating." But he looked at me and said, "Not yet." When he took me out, I thought his work on me was over, but then he started to paint me. I couldn't believe what he did next. He put me back into the oven, and I said, "I can't stand this, please let me out!" But he said, "Not yet." Finally he took me out of the oven and set me on a shelf where I thought he had forgotten me. Then one day he took me off the shelf and held me up before a mirror. I couldn't believe my eyes. I had become a beautiful teacup that everyone wants to buy.'

There are things going on in your life today that you don't understand. When you finally get to the place God wants you to be, you'll realise that He has been making you into a vessel He can use, bless, and use to bless others. So, allow God to shape you!

Used with permission from UCB Word for Today. Free issues are available here for the UK and Republic of Ireland.