Home »
He saw you in your need; and as you put your trust in Him, may the blessing of the Lord become your portion, as we continue to meditate upon His word – The Lord bless you from Zion; And may you see the peace, the prosperity of Jerusalem All the days of your life. [Psalms128:5,6] The blessing of God becomes your experience by a godly growth that comes to you by His word. [Psalms 19:7] His word makes you wise unto salvation, that grants to you an enabling and empowering by His Spirit, that you may experience the blessing of God which is doing His will. How it works out in your life, and what could play an important role in it is well explained by the writer to the Hebrews, even as the epistle ends
Knowledge and ability to do His will:
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the Blood of the eternal covenant, Equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. [Hebrews 13:20,21] His enabling and empowering come to you, as He equips you with His knowledge and ability to experience the blessing of doing the will of God. They are two very vital components, for the absence of knowledge will lead to frustration, and an absence of ability will end up in fruitlessness, or an inability to bear good fruit, that is the will of God for your life. The heart of any matter is the heart, it has been rightly observed. And therefore
HE fashions your heart –
He is the Lord who looks down from heaven, to see all the children of man. And He is the God who fashions the heart of them all; and observes all their deeds. [Psalms 33:15] He develops you, by fashioning, or working upon your heart, that you may be purposefully built. There is indeed nothing that is ever going to be unplanned, or not envisaged when it comes to His will for your life. He is going to build you up, and develop you as a potter does with the clay that he is working with. And there is a higher, deeper, glorious dimension to it all; for it is restoration in a covenant relationship, a blood covenant, by the Cross of Calvary.
He is your FATHER:
But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You are the potter, We are all the work of Your hand. [Isaiah 64:7] He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and He is your Father. He is Jehovah Jireh, your Provider; and He is your Father. He is Jehovah Rapha, your Healer; and He is your Father. His love lavished upon you, His own Son sacrificed on the Cross, for you. How wondrously He has cared for you. And your Heavenly Father knows your every need, to provide for it. You do not have to run around as the Gentiles; those who do not have a relationship do, seeking after their material wants.
You are in a relationship:
Christianity is a relationship, with God as your Father. It is not a religion. And a relationship involves reciprocation. Prayer, therefore, when you are in a relationship with God as your Father, is a dialogue, where you can call unto Him, and He will answer you, to show you great and mighty things that you do not understand. [Jeremiah 33:3] And it is as a Father that He develops you, fashion you into a beautiful vessel for His glory. You are not a random piece of clay, left to your own devices. It is all about willingly surrendering, offering yourself into the hand of the potter, that grace may take you from where you are, to where your loving Heavenly Father wants you, His precious child, to be.
When corrected – your response:
God who is your Father, and your Potter, who develops you, never give up on you, His child, even when He finds you drifting away from Him, or going astray from His promise and purpose for your life. He desires to draw you back to himself, and the good plan that He has already prepared for you. And therefore His instruction or correction could come your way, through His word, as He disciplines or trains you, in times of challenges, when it could seem to you for all purposes, that God does not care about you. My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord; Nor be weary when reproved by Him. [Hebrews 12:5] For such a situation could cause you to take it too lightly, or get discouraged or bogged down by it.
HIS everlasting love – the reason:
For the Lord disciplines the one He loves and chastises every son whom He receives. [Verse 6] He disciplines you, for He loves you and cares for you, even as an earthly parent does, though in a deeper dimension. His eye is upon you, that you may not deviate from His will and purpose for your life. It may seem painful when it is happening, but it is all out of His love, that you may be led to true repentance and a restoration to walk in the path that leads to your original intended purpose. He is the God who causes all things to come together for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purposes. [Romans 8:28]
He has already prepared –
You are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand, that you should walk in them. [Ephesians 2:10] And now it is your heart that needs to be synced in, to experience the blessing of being fashioned by God that takes place by His word.
‘Sent’ by God, though, ’sold’ by brothers:
He was betrayed and sold as a slave by his own brothers, but in the sight of God, Joseph was sent to Egypt, for ultimately what would be the saving of many lives. And it is seen in the progressive change that took place, in the midst of unfair and painful circumstances that Joseph found himself, locked up in prison, for a crime that he did not commit. But it was there that the word of God began to refine him, as the Lord fashioned his heart, equipping him for the time when he would be lifted up, to do the will of God. [Psalms 105:17-19]
Are you fine? Or, are you refined?!
It is the question that you need to ask yourself, especially in a time when you are going through inexplicable challenges, for as a child of God problems need not destroy you. God allows them because they are going to develop you, to be purposefully built, as He proceeds to fashion your heart so that you may experience the blessing of knowing and doing His good and perfect will for your life. As you pass through tough times, you can give thanks unto the Lord, for even in misery, God has a message for you that you may see a manifestation of His power, as you acknowledge the power of every ‘Rhema’ word that speaks into your situation, that you may come into His house to say – If only your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. [Psalms 119:92] You do not have to be miserable anymore. A Christian is allowed to mourn, but not moan! Making excuses will never lead you to excellence.
You are Refined to reflect, and represent HIM:
Joseph made a conscious decision to do so as he said to the pharaoh, after being changed and fashioned on the inside, ‘It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer’. [Genesis 41:16] And the pharaoh saw the truth of it to declare, ‘Can we find a person like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?’ [Verse 37] And with enlightened understanding, of the truth of the new covenant, that, God loved him, and gave Himself for him, Paul has said, ‘I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I, but Christ who lives in me. [Galatians 2:20] And Lord Jesus Christ prayed, as He shed sweat drops of blood, ‘My Father, if it is possible let this cup pass from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will’. [Matthew 26:39]
‘Not I, but, THEE’-
Now God’s work of grace continues in you until you are conformed to the image of His Son, the greatest blessing. It is the kind of change that God wants to happen in you, that you are enabled and empowered to say in the midst of your life’s challenges, ‘Not my will, Lord, but, let yours be done.’ Bring God in the center, removing your ‘I’ or ‘self’, saying, ‘Not I but Thee’, to pray, Father, We submit to your work of grace in us this day, that you may restore, refine, equip us with every good thing, that we may be able to do your will, and not ours, to be purposefully built for our greatest satisfaction, and the glory and honor of Your Name. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
