God Isn't Trying To Break You

Don't despise the pressure.

Clay doesn't become beautiful by being left alone.

It is pressed.

Shaped.

Turned.

Refined.

Again and again.

Sometimes we ask God,

"Why is this season so difficult?"

When perhaps the better question is,

"What are You forming in me?"

The Potter never applies pressure without purpose.

Every turn of the wheel.

Every stretch.

Every moment that feels uncomfortable.

Every season that makes no sense.

Is in the hands of Someone who already sees the finished masterpiece.

The clay doesn't tell the Potter what it should become.

It simply stays in His hands.

Maybe that's the invitation for us today.

Stop fighting every difficult season.

Stop assuming every hardship means God has abandoned you.

Sometimes the pressure you're feeling isn't punishment.

It's preparation.

God isn't trying to break you.

He's shaping you into someone who can carry what He's preparing to place in your hands.

Trust the Potter.

Even when you don't understand the process.

Because the hands that are shaping you...

Are the same hands that created you.

But now, O Lord,

You are our Father;

We are the clay, and You our potter;

And all we are the work of Your hand.

Isaiah 64:8

- David Baugh

Meme: I'll Never Lose My Faith In God!

Prayer: Difficult Circumstances

Made To Be Good, Not Just Feel Good

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

And in His word I do hope.

Psalm 130:5 (NKJV)

The challenges kept coming. Just when I thought I was recovering and getting back up on my feet after one hardship, another difficulty would come crashing in and send me right back to my knees.

Financial insecurity.

Relational stress.

Struggling children.

Professional uncertainty.

Illness.

I couldn’t catch my breath. There wasn’t a direction I could look and find peace, abundant life, or the provision I felt God had promised me.

These struggles aren’t unique, and the urge to give up when everything feels overwhelming is something we all experience. So what do we do when we want to quit? When we feel like we’re in over our heads and our emotions are screaming, You are never going to make it through this?

Personally, I like to take the easiest route. A venting call with a friend helps for a moment. Or I’ll try out the latest productivity hack that will pull my head above water for a couple of days. I might even get really disciplined and go for a “30-Day Reset” plan I saw online, which sometimes gives me a few weeks of reprieve.

But honestly, none of these tricks brings lasting change.

The only place I have found true strength and hope to carry me through the toughest of days is in the promises of our all-knowing, all-powerful God.

Maybe today you’re facing impossibilities like I am, and maybe your feelings are screaming at you to lie down and quit. Let me remind you of what God promises in His holy, perfect Word. He promises He will …

• Give you eternal life in Christ (John 5:24).

• Love you forever (Psalm 136).

• Make you more like Him through the work of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26).

• Give you peace (Philippians 4:6-7).

• Work all things out for good (Romans 8:28).

And so much more.

Those are good promises, but I want to take a step back and see something that’s not promised. In all the words of the Bible, God doesn’t promise a comfortable, easy life on earth, and He doesn’t promise to give us all we want.

What He promises is to give us His enduring love and to work all things out for good. It’s not that things always feel good, but they will be good … There’s a big difference. To be good is to be like Christ, displaying the fruit of the Spirit. Feeling good comes and goes; being good lasts forever.

The challenges I’m facing haven’t changed. Even as I write this, I’m tempted to give up. But Psalm 130:5 tells me what to do: “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope …”

Today, instead of just venting to a friend or trying another productivity hack, I’m choosing to believe God's Word instead of my feelings. I'm letting Him use the waiting to make me good, not just comfortable.

Lord, in my waiting, help me trust Your Word more than my feelings. Make me more like You, even when it’s hard. I choose to hope in You today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Meredith Brock
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

Application of God's Word: Hebrews 12:3

Verse: Hebrews 12:3

For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself,
lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Application:

When we face hardship and discouragement, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. But we're not alone; there is help. Many have already made it through life, enduring far more difficult circumstances than we have experienced. Suffering is the training ground for Christian maturity. It develops our patience and makes our final victory sweet.

Do you constantly ask God to clean up every messy are of your life? To brighten every dark corner and to dress up every shabby appearance? That's okay; our concerns are His concerns. But don't expect perfection. The perfect world we crave is for a future glory, not for now. Ease and comfort are not usually His prescription for us, because they will not prepare us for that future glory. No, God will leave us reminders of brokenness to serve as reminders of His grace. Endure those reminders well.