This week at Journey I taught about Creation.
It just so happened that while I was preparing my lesson, I finally opened an email that had been languishing in my inbox for several weeks.
It just so happened that the email contained an illustration of God as the Potter that would fit perfectly with my lesson. Now, I do believe that some things that happen are just a coincidence, but I also believe that this many coinciding events are not coincidence but God incidents. I could see His hand as I was putting the Creation message together, but I had no idea it wouldn’t end there!
It just so happened that after teaching in the evening I was unexpectedly able to leave an hour earlier than I normally do, and
It just so happened that after teaching in the evening I was unexpectedly able to leave an hour earlier than I normally do, and
It just so happened that when I turned the car on the radio played, “Lord if I'm the clay then lay me down On your spinning wheel, Shape me into something you can fill with something real” (Caedmon's Call “Hands of the Potter”). I’d never heard this song before, and just caught the last line. Now God really had my attention, because at the end of my teaching I posed two questions to ask God that I had gleaned from the email: How would You like to shape my life? (vs. me deciding what I’d like to do) and How can I cooperate with that shaping?
I had already planned to post something else today, but when I heard these words my mind started racing back and linking all these “coincidences.” Because I was processing, I wasn’t paying any attention to the song currently playing, but again, the last line grabbed my attention:
“Lift up your heart and be amazed And be changed by a perfect God.” (Perfect People, Natalie Grant)
This was too much! I’ve seen God’s hand in things before, but I’ve never had this many promptings in such close succession. One thing God impressed upon me was that while I had posed those two questions to those attending the Bible study, I’d never posed them to God for myself. Obviously, that is something God wants me to do!
There was a time when this series of events would have terrified me. I think that’s because God doesn’t usually call me to things I’m already comfortable doing, but to things that I either don’t feel qualified for or have never even considered. Plus, quite often the things God calls me to are difficult, and He doesn’t show me when or how it’s all going to end. All I get is the next step, which, in looking at Scripture, is how He generally works. Yet I came home excited! God is doing something new and He wants me to be a part of it! Something amazing and life changing!
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6
God, I thank you that you are the same yesterday, today and forever, and that you speak to us today just as clearly as you spoke when you walked this earth. Thank you for speaking to me and teaching me to listen. I do want what you want for me. Please show me how you want to shape my life, and how I can cooperate with you! And thank you for promising to be with me every step of the way! I love you so much! Lisa
I had already planned to post something else today, but when I heard these words my mind started racing back and linking all these “coincidences.” Because I was processing, I wasn’t paying any attention to the song currently playing, but again, the last line grabbed my attention:
“Lift up your heart and be amazed And be changed by a perfect God.” (Perfect People, Natalie Grant)
This was too much! I’ve seen God’s hand in things before, but I’ve never had this many promptings in such close succession. One thing God impressed upon me was that while I had posed those two questions to those attending the Bible study, I’d never posed them to God for myself. Obviously, that is something God wants me to do!
There was a time when this series of events would have terrified me. I think that’s because God doesn’t usually call me to things I’m already comfortable doing, but to things that I either don’t feel qualified for or have never even considered. Plus, quite often the things God calls me to are difficult, and He doesn’t show me when or how it’s all going to end. All I get is the next step, which, in looking at Scripture, is how He generally works. Yet I came home excited! God is doing something new and He wants me to be a part of it! Something amazing and life changing!
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6
God, I thank you that you are the same yesterday, today and forever, and that you speak to us today just as clearly as you spoke when you walked this earth. Thank you for speaking to me and teaching me to listen. I do want what you want for me. Please show me how you want to shape my life, and how I can cooperate with you! And thank you for promising to be with me every step of the way! I love you so much! Lisa
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