Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today- August 14, 2013
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. Jeremiah 18:4
Those who follow Jesus are shaped by the hands of their Heavenly Father. He is a perfect potter who takes a cracked pot marred by sin and forms it into a precious pot of redemption. It becomes precious because the fingerprints of God mold the moist clay of surrender into a form that seems best to Him. His best is beautiful. The rough edges of rejection are smoothed over by the Lord’s sweet acceptance. The air of insecurity is worked out and replaced by the breath of God’s grace.
Our loving Savior and Lord uses fiery trials to temper our trust in Him. The heat of heart break, breaks our will to mold it into His will. Weepy eyes look to the Lord for relief and refuge. We are shaped and made secure by Christ during fiery trials, and like the three Hebrew children we come forth from the purging flames stronger in the faith. Yes, we may momentarily lose our happy face when challenges occur, but we can count it pure joy for our lesson in perseverance.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. James 1:2-3
Furthermore, it is important we not obstruct the work of the Holy Spirit in the unformed faith of those developing on the potter’s wheel of trust. Helping hurts if we temporarily rescue another from a trial meant to make them more dependent on the Lord and not codependent on us. Our benevolent efforts may make us feel better, but backfire by prolonging a backslidden lifestyle. God’s growth process removes impurities and replaces them with His fired glaze of grace.
Helping hurts when short sighted sympathy trumps eternal empathy. Short sighted sympathy wants to fix a person or problem before a prayerful problem solving process is employed while eternally motivated empathy takes into account that Almighty God is at work all around us to accomplish His purposes. Thus the best remedy may be not to offer a remedy, but to wait on the Lord to work out His outcomes. We are called to help, only if it helps bring glory to God!
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it. Daniel 3:17
Prayer: Heavenly Father, lead me to help others only when it furthers your purpose and plan.
Related Readings: Psalm 22:11, 30:2, 54:4; Isaiah 30:1-3; Matthew 15:25; Philippians 2:29-30
Post/Tweet today: Helping hurts if we rescue another from a trial meant to make them more dependent on the Lord. #whenhelpinghurts
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