Jars of Clay

I'm a practical person.  If something doesn't work, I don't want to use it.  If something is broken, I want to get rid of it.

How thankful I am today that God is NOT practical.
He does not think the way I do.
He does not work the way I do.

I've read before how "His thoughts are not my thoughts and His ways are not my ways," but this morning I am especially grateful for this phenomenal truth.

If God were practical, if He didn't use broken things, if He got rid of them, I would be LONG GONE by now.

I AM broken.
I am not perfect, not even close.

I have cracks, rips, tears, bruises.
I am pretty beat up.
Not much to look at really.
Most people would probably pass me by, especially practical people.

But, as I mentioned, God is NOT practical.
He actually specializes in using the weak and weary, the tired and worn, the broken, the dirty, the unlovely,the hurt, those put aside and passed by and looked over by everyone else.

I find this extremely encouraging.
As we start this new year, maybe you are coming out of a difficult time.
Perhaps 2014 was a year of trials and tribulations.
You suffered hardships.
You endured testing.
You wondered if anything would ever go right as everything seemed to fall apart and crumble around you.  You felt defeated.  Discouraged.
Maybe you even wanted to give up, throw in the towel.

BUT, here you are.
Facing another day.
And let me assure you, it's a GOOD day!

Why?
The troubles haven't disappeared.
The pain is still there.
That may be true, but please remember this: God is still there too.
He never left.
Never abandoned you.
And He never will...

That would be the practical thing to do, to toss aside the broken.
Oh how wonderful that God is anything but practical!!!

Instead, He gives us these amazing words in 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

We now have this light shining in our hearts, 

but we ourselves are like FRAGILE clay jars containing this great treasure.

This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not ourselves.

We are pressed on EVERY side by troubles, but we are NOT crushed.

We are perplexed, but we are NOT driven to despair.

We are hunted down, but NEVER abandoned by God.

We get knocked down, but we are NOT destroyed.

Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus

SO THAT the LIFE of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

Yes, we live under CONSTANT danger of death because we serve Jesus,

so that the LIFE of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.

So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in ETERNAL life for you.

But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of FAITH the Psalmist had when he said,

I believed in God, so I spoke.

We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise US with Jesus

and present us to Himself together with you.

ALL of this is for your BENEFIT.

And as God's grace reaches more and more people, there will be GREAT THANKSGIVING,

as God will receive more and more glory.

That is why we NEVER GIVE UP. 

Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being RENEWED EVERY DAY.

For our present troubles are SMALL and won't last very long.

Yet, they produce for us a glory that VASTLY OUTWEIGHS them and will last FOREVER!

So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; 

rather, we FIX OUR GAZE on things that cannot be seen.

For the things we see now will soon be gone,

but the things we cannot see will last forever.

I hope you caught the very first part - we are FRAGILE jars of clay.

We have cracks.

We are broken.

We are not very good for carrying water.

We leak.

BUT, in God's world, where the IMPRACTICAL is best for fulfilling His plans and bringing Him the most glory, leaking is a good thing.  Be broken and cracked is PERFECT.  In fact, our imperfections, our weaknesses allow Him to showcase His power and strength and majesty and love and compassion and grace and mercy and glory.

If we have Jesus inside us, if He is part of our lives, then He SHINES THROUGH OUR CRACKS.

If we have Jesus inside us, if He is part of our lives, then His love and mercy and everything else good about Him FLOWS OUT where we are broken.

See, leaking is a VERY GOOD thing in God's world.

It's why Paul proclaimed, "So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me."

Hear me out.

I didn't say leaking and being broken is easy. 

Or fun.

I honestly don't understand how Paul can write with such assurance, "our present troubles are small and won't last very long."  

When we miscarried and said goodbye to our precious baby before we ever got to meet him/her, that didn't seem SMALL.  The pain lasted a long time, and still 4 years later, I ache to have been able to hold and kiss my angel baby.  

When we were struggling financially and didn't know how we were going to pay our bills, fill our cars with gas, put food in the fridge, or anything else, that didn't seem SMALL.  I lost sleep at night worrying about where the money was going to come from, how we were going to make it, how we were going to afford having the baby who was growing inside of me.  That time didn't seem SHORT at all.  

When I tore cartilage in both my knees and had to have surgery instead of competing at the State Track Meet and playing collegiate volleyball like planned, that didn't seem SMALL.  My entire world had been turned upside down, all my dreams dashed.  Those weeks and weeks on crutches and doing rehab and phyiscal therapy didn't seem SHORT at all.

I could give numerous examples of how my personal trials and troubles didn't seem small at the time.  BUT, now looking back, I can definitely see how God was using those AWFUL experiences to bring about my ultimate good, draw others to Himself, and the most glory to His name possible.  Were they fun or easy or enjoyable?  NO!!  Not at all.  Not even going to try to pretend they were.

During those horrific circumstances, I held firm to my life verses in Psalm 62

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,

for my hope is in Him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress where I will NOT be shaken.

My victory and honor come from God alone.

He is my refugre, a rock where no enemy can reach me.

O my people, trust in Him at ALL times.

Pour out your heart to Him,

for God is our refuge.

Just as we saw in Paul's letter to the church in Corinth, 

We are pressed on EVERY side by troubles, but we are NOT crushed.

We are perplexed, but we are NOT driven to despair.

We are hunted down, but NEVER abandoned by God.

We get knocked down, but we are NOT destroyed.

Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus

SO THAT the LIFE of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

This morning I was continuing my study in 1 Peter.  I was reminded once more how God is not practical,  how He does things so very differently than I ever would, but His way is always so much better.  I was encouraged as I read this profound truth,

Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through,

as if something strange were happening to you.

Instead, be VERY GLAD - for these trials make you partners with Christ in His suffering,

so that you will have the WONDERFUL JOY of seeing His glory 

when it is revealed to all the world.

So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right,
and TRUST YOUR LIVES TO GOD who created you,
for He will NEVER FAIL YOU.

As we begin this new year, we have a fresh start.

Your trials and troubles may not have disappeared when the ball dropped, but I can assure you this - as we enter 2015, God is with you, every single step of the way.

Even more, He has amazing plans for you this year.

Good plans.

Plans for a hope and a future.

You are His masterpiece and He will be working in and throuh you.

He will be transforming you into the man/woman He created you to be.

He loves you deeply and only wants the very best for you.

He gave His very life for you and will not stop molding and shaping you until the good work He began in finally finished, when Christ returns to take you to glory with Him.

We have this amazing hope of glory.

We know eternity will be wonderful and far outweigh any hardships or difficulties we endure here on this earth.

We know Jesus is coming back.

BUT, are we willing to put the rubber to the road?

Are we willing to persevere?

Are we ready to embrace the trials?

Are we able to fix our eyes on the unseen rather than the chaos all around us?

Are we committed to running the race set before us?

Are we okay with being broken so God can shine through our cracks?

I am shaking as I say this, but I AM.

This year I want to step out and live by faith, not by sight.

I want to be bold, courageous.

I want to live out loud.

I want to be poured out so that everyone can see Jesus in me and long to have them in their lives too!

Will you join me on this journey?

Will you pray with me for God to use us however He wants, that the most glory might be brought to His name in the process?