It seems I’ve spent many years of my life going around in
circles.
In your job or other areas of responsibility, do things
operate in cycles? Do you catch yourself saying, “Yep, it’s February. That
means it’s time to do X again, and we need to do it in Y fashion because that’s
the way it needs to be done”? And can you remember sitting in that same spot
last year saying the same thing? It might be a seasonal project, or the end of
a fiscal year, or for students, final exam time.
If you’re a creative person (or maybe not), it can drain
your creativity. When you realize you’ve traveled in the same circle over and
over again, it can trigger a quick re-evaluation of your life. It can become
painfully obvious that you’ve fallen short of your goals. Or it can cause you
to wonder if you’ve harmed your future by staying in one spot for what feels
like far too long.
Around and around. Nothing appears to change.
But the key word in that sentence might be “appears.” After
all, things aren’t always what they appear to be.
I’m in some cycles right now.
So a few minutes ago, I got back from a walk on a cold,
winter evening in St. Louis. As I walked, I got honest with God like I often
do. And I figure He knows everything about me anyway, so my attitude with Him
was, “Lord, why do I need to go through the same crap over and over again?
Other people get to move forward with X or Y, and but I need to spend more time
in this cycle that doesn’t seem to change.”
For those of you who read my blog and aren’t already aware,
I’m a Christian, albeit one who’s pretty far from perfect. Whatever goes on in
my life, I tend to view it through the lens of faith, the Bible, and those bits
of revelation God gives you along the way. And I believe big time that God has
a long-range plan. So much so, that I’ve said to Him many times, “I sure hope
You’ve got my life and calling and job details taken care of, because if You
don’t, I’m in big trouble!”
Maybe ten minutes later after mentioning the cycle thing, God
reminds me of a Bible verse about the potter and the clay:
“Does clay talk back
to the potter: ‘What are you doing? What clumsy fingers!” (Isaiah 45:9 The
Message)
“Yep, You’re right God.” God has a plan. He’s shaping the
future.
Then, another mile or so into my walk, it got even better.
Have you ever seen a potter using a pottery wheel? It starts
out as a lump. It spins around and around, and not much seems to happen. Just
the same thing, over and over. Talk about boring, not to mention slow.
At first, it doesn’t look like the spinning does that clay
any good. But soon, as the potter uses his hands, the clay starts to take
shape. You can’t detect a big difference with each individual revolution, but
combine those cycles together …
It gains height. More revolutions. The body gains a unique
shape. More revolutions. A lip forms along the top. And so on.
With each revolution, further refining takes place.
More often than we prefer, the cycles in our lives seem like
such a waste of time. We don’t see progress. But maybe that’s just the way it
appears.
Maybe the truth is different. Could it be that, with each
cycle. God is fine-tuning the nuances of our lives, adding patience here,
adding endurance there, tweaking a skill or attitude there. And we might not
see the payoff until years down the road—when we’re glad we went through that
mundane process. We learned what works well. We also learned what doesn’t work
well.
With some things, I’m so glad I learned from a mistake when
the mistake didn’t matter much. Maybe God knows if I’d made that same mistake
in a future scenario, it would have cost an awful lot.
I’m thankful God works those mistakes in our favor too. I’ve
learned He can work all things together for my good, even when I’ve screwed up
to an extent only He can repair:
“But the vessel that
he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it
into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make” (Jeremiah 18:4
NASB).
What? The clay shifted out of place and its arm fell off? Perhaps
you made a major mistake. Or maybe a friend or loved one broke your heart, left
a gaping hole, and doesn’t really care that the broken piece is just sitting on
the dirty ground.
Whatever it is, the Potter can work that piece of clay back
into the vessel. And when He does, what’s fascinating is that oftentimes, no
one else can tell anything went wrong. It looks as if your life came together
like it was supposed to.
Probably because the Potter knew the mistakes we’d make
before we’d ever made them—and just worked them into His plan when He mapped
out our lives. (“Okay, we’re gonna need to factor in a pit stop right there…”)
So we go around and around and around. And with each
revolution, we get refined a little more … and a little more … and a little
more …
Your life does matter. You’re never beyond hope.
I’ve clung to that truth so often, I’ve lost count. I hope
it was the exact encouragement you needed today.
Never give up!
johnherricknet.blogspot.com
Today’s playlist: Hunter Hayes, Hunter Hayes (LOVING this album!)
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