He Has You

There is no such thing as a self-made man or woman in the Kingdom of God. “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make” (Jeremiah 18:4 NKJV).

If you want to be a vessel of God, then be ready to be changed by God. There are a thousand teachers that will tell you an easy way to get there, but they’re all wrong. God cannot form you in your pleasures. This is where the masses stop listening.

Most Christians are willing to do anything for God unless it’s going to cost them something. “So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way” (Romans 12:1 ERV).

Everyone wants the easy path. Nobody wakes up and prays for a trial. But the godly man or woman who is truly devoted to God will serve Him no matter the cost. Your salvation is free, but if you want to serve God in the kingdom, it’s going to cost you something.

There are more Christians willing to serve Christ than surrender to Him. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely reject and disown your own life. And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it as your own, as you continually surrender to my ways.’” (Matthew 16:24 TPT).

Stop thinking that the trials are meant to ruin you when God is using them to make you His own. It takes fire to remove the impurities from your life, and it takes force to shape you into something new. Consider every prophet in the Bible and ask yourself why God should make it any easier for you.

It’s in the trials that God sifts out and develops His best servants. “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2-4 NLT).

The reason God must bring us to the end of ourselves is so that He can make us into something new. It’s adversity that causes us to fall at the feet of Jesus. To the degree we have confidence in our ability to serve Him, He has more trials yet to put us through.

The Lord will break you to change you if that is what it takes. “…’ can I not do with you as this potter?’ says the Lord. ‘Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand…’” (Jeremiah 18:6 NKJV).

There are a thousand Christians who will serve so long as it is comfortable, but there are a few who will serve no matter the cost. Let others serve as they will, but what about you? What circumstances has God put you through to prepare you for all He would have you accomplish for the kingdom?

When we’re at the end of ourselves, we’ll be at a new beginning with the Lord. “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule” (Matthew 5:3 MSG).

The ground must be broken to plant the seeds. The storms must come that the seeds would then germinate. The hot sun must shine that the plants would grow. The sickle must swing hard to gather the harvest. It is in adversity that harvest is started, and it is in adversity that the harvest is finished.

There are some Christians who have only bones but not the life of Christ upon them. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 NKJV).

If you ever want to know what God is trying to teach you, just look at the circumstances you are in now. We all carry a burden, but only the few will learn to set it at the feet of Jesus. It is not up to us to understand our suffering but to trust in God as we go through it.

Sometimes when God does not explain Himself, He is teaching you to trust Him. “Jesus replied, ‘You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will'” (John 13:7 NLT).

I don’t know what you’re going through, but I pray that you would trust God to bring you through it. Be determined to be a vessel of God and let Him shape you as He sees fit. God is never wrong, and God is always working to bring about that saint He has intended for you to be all along.

If you want to change your life, let Him. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10 RSV).

Blessings to you,

Paul Balius