God is in the Mix

[logi bear]

A devotional from my church : ) enjoy guys!

God is in the Mix

A.W. Pink said this, “The marvelous grace of God delights to single out as its objects, unlikely and unworthy subjects. He selects those who have nothing and He gives them everything.” So if you are feeling unlikely today, or if you feel unworthy, you are in a good place! That’s the type of person that God is looking to use.

We all try to figure out how to get our way—how we can manipulate the situation. Why do we think we need to give God a hand in how a situation will turn out? Maybe we think God is taking too long to bring about the blessings that He has promised, so we take matters into our own hands and we “help God out.” We decide that we’ve been tested long enough, don’t we?

We know from Genesis that Jacob received the promise even though he was dishonest, unworthy and unlikely. God chose Him before the foundation of the world. God would use him and fulfill His purposes despite Jacob’s flaws and failures.

Einstein said that God doesn’t throw dice. It’s true. There are no coincidences with the Lord. Recognize that everything that we do in our lives, God is in the mix! As a Christian, we know that though we may be going through a hardship or trial and maybe we are looking pretty banged up, but we know that God is in the mix. There’s a reason for everything. Your trials don’t necessarily mean that God’s heavy hand is upon you. Perhaps you need a period of rest. Maybe He wants some one-on-one time with you and He wants to speak to you. Whenever we are going through anything in life, especially as a Christian, we should always be looking up to the Lord and saying, “What are you wanting to do here, Lord?” Find out God’s plan. Know that He is up to something.

God doesn’t throw dice. He has a Divine pan for everything that takes place in our lives. The Lord chooses us even though we are a mess. As we go along with the Lord, He begins to reveal our hearts to us. It’s not always pleasant, is it? He takes His Word, which is a mirror, and He says, “Look at your heart.” We look at our heart (unless we are deceiving ourselves and we still think our heart looks pretty good), and we are disgusted. We can’t believe how much is in these hearts of ours.

When I first got called to pastor our church, I thought, at first, that since I was called to do this, in God’s eyes I must be at a certain place, spiritually, since He was entrusting me to pastor a church. I knew that Corinthians says that He uses the nobodies of this world to confound the wise. I understood that and I knew I qualified for that! But I began to think along the lines that this must mean that I’m where I need to be. It was a clear and obvious call. I knew this was my call at this time.

As I began to serve as pastor, I learned the most about myself. I quickly learned how much I need God’s help, and His mercy and grace! I’ve learned how vulnerable and weak I am without the grace of God. I’ve learned how wretched my flesh is and if I’m not crucifying it, daily, then I am going to be in big trouble.

God has been educating me. Perhaps he is doing the same in your life. The definition of the word, “educate” is to educe or to draw out that which is within. When God is educating us, he is showing us our vulnerabilities, weaknesses and failures. He doesn’t do this to condemn us or to beat us down, but so that we will look up. He lifts up those who are abased. But those who are haughty and prideful, he abases.

Allow the Lord to show to you who you truly are. He wants to meet with you and educate you. He wants to draw out that which is within you. It’s the dross. He removes the muck out of our lives. It’s not fun. It’s uncomfortable and it hurts. In the process, there’s stretching and pulling and smashing involved! As far as the Potter is concerned, there are no bounds for how far He will go to make a masterpiece, out of you and out of me.

Here’s the thing: God knew what He was getting into—He knows how dirty we are. God is in it for the long haul with you. He Who began the work in you will be faithful to complete it in you.