As the Earthen Vessel {A New Name}
"..we are afflicted in every way, but
not crushed;
perplexed, but
not despairing;
persecuted, but
not forsaken;
struck down, but
not destroyed.”
-- 2 Cor 4:8,9
G-d's Word tells us, our personal experiences reinforce within us, our race is not being run on a smooth track, though it is being pre-prepared. It's not always easy for me to live for Jesus Christ and Him alone- but it is always right to live for Him, and G-d promises that living for Him is worth it. *re-reads softly* ... not crushed.
Hebrews 12:1, let us run with endurance the race set before us. We would like to us to sit down and relax... but we are to "keep on keeping on." To press ahead. I will always need G-d to pull me through. "If we fail under pressure, our strength is too small." It sounds like a condemnation..but it is simply a true statement. If we fail under pressure of living in this world for Jesus, it is because we need strength from Him.
Difficulty (what my senior pastor refers to as the "d-word") - is a word no one likes to hear. What do i do with them when they come my way? How can i find myself above them instead of dragged down by them?
"We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed." "Ouch, that hurts!" Our health, and well being hurts when this difficulty hits our lives- sometimes very much... "We are perplexed, but not despairing.' .. It's those moments of difficulty we do not expect..and i know that in the middle of these experiences, i become confused, and i try to figure life out on my own, because i can't figure out this source of difficulty that i'm facing... when in reality, G-d already knows what's happening, and He has me in the palm of His hand. This is what robs me of my confidence, mostly in me, but also in G-d... because i can so easily get caught up in the mess that i forget He's listening. But He's always listening. And He's already written this into my story. "Persecuted but not forsaken..." Jesus was pressured each moment on earth... pressure, pressure, pressure.
"Struck down... but not destroyed." Those times in life when i face that full-front attack on life- knocked off my feet- don't know what hit me... however you say it. G-d knows full well how these difficulties strike us. But Paul was not done in by the difficulties of life; not by merely an attitude, not as an approach to living, but in Jesus, that is a reality. In all things we conquer through Him. ...in all things..
My problems seem so far beneath G-d at times. And then i am reminded by a simple act on His part that there is no problems too small or too big for Him.
Identifying the difficulty takes courage..if i run from it, or ignore it, or side-step it, it will begin to discourage me... the fear begins to fade, when i know the L-rd is beneath me. David, even as a boy, stood and faced Goliath in the eyes. "Today, Goliath, you have defied the G-d of Israel... and when I am done with you, then the world will know that there is a G-d in Israel." And how dare i ignore the problem that G-d is going to use to His glory?
i belong to my G-d... i belong to Him. i am not a "distant relative." i am His daughter. His servant. i am now to live for Him who died for me. My life mission, my hopes and dreams, is to serve Him, and are planted in Him. Whether we live or die, we are the L-rd's. His. It is through these difficulties that G-d develops my confidence in Him. Because i am tired of being afraid, i'm tired of everything that i can't control but i want to... and He tells me to cast my cares upon Him. He is the difference in my existence, He alone is the One i want to be living for.
My life... is my ministry. These verses do apply to me in everyday life and experiences. We are all going through tough things in life these days, my friends. Let us go to G-d and give it to Him, because He is the only One greater. Lay the difficulties right at His feet so He can step on them..for you and me.
"If G-d is for us, who can be against us...?" ...if G-d is for us....
Now to the point of this post. I have changed my blog name, simply because, in concurrence with the above writing, i want, to not know what lies ahead. i want to be pliable. Malleable. Like bread dough. Like a clay pot, spinning round and round on the potter's wheel, dizzy from life experiences, but being etched with the most beautiful of stories, from the brokenness to the beauty. i want to surrender. All of it. i want to be spun around as many times as need be, to achieve perfection in His sight. This is all that matters to me. His Handmaiden was a wonderful part of my journey. And it may be back... someday. Right now, though, i know as the Earthen Vessel the place where i am going, and will, by His grace, be.
Just be. 1 Timothy 4: 10 - many, many blessings to you all.
Article and Photography Copyright of Sierra Brewer and Fresh Joys Photography, 2012. If you would like to use any part of this post, please contact me for express permission at hishandmaiden.theblog@gmail.com. Thank you.