DEVOTION: The Master Plan ~ by Shirley Corder

 The LORD told me, "Go to the pottery shop, and when you get there, I will tell you what to say to the people." I went there and saw the potter making clay pots on his pottery wheel. And whenever the clay would not take the shape he wanted, he would change his mind and form it into some other shape.  Jeremiah 18:1-4 CEV

A few weeks ago, we saw how we were made in God’s image. Yet often, when I sit down to write, I don’t feel that way. I can’t imagine God staring blankly at His creation, wondering what went wrong, can you? Yet I often sit and look at the screen on my computer and struggle to make sense of what I’m trying to create.

I eventually put my fingers to the keyboard and start typing. Sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter, I create what I hope will be a masterpiece. Sometimes I am pleased with the result. More often, I don’t like what I have written one bit. At that point I have two options. I can press delete and start over, or I can do some editing and try to improve on what I’ve written.

The potter in our reading didn’t press delete. He didn’t throw the clay away. He kept on working with it, but he wasn't afraid to make drastic changes. In the same way, we may add a new thought, change a point of view, create a new character or even make a drastic change to the story. Perhaps we need to add a crisis or a tragedy to bring out the real truth we want to share with our readers. Gradually the story comes to life until we finally type, “The End,” and we’re satisfied.

Before we were born, God had a plan for each of our lives. He will never give up on us, and throw us to one side. Sometimes He’ll see we need another person or challenge in our lives. He supplies that. Maybe we need a change, and He provides us with joy or excitement to brighten our lives. But sometimes a time of sadness or a tragedy comes our way. God uses all these things to turn us into something beautiful. He will allow nothing—absolutely nothing—to thwart the plan He has for our lives.

One day, if we allow Him to keep working on us, God will look at the finished result, and He will be satisfied. We will have turned out just like He hoped—a person fit for His Kingdom.

PRAYER: Lord God, when I look at some of the challenges in my life, sometimes I wonder if this is really part of your master plan for my life. Thank You that you never give up on me. Thank you that you never lose sight of what I will one day become. Help me to trust you to continue your work in me. Amen.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

Jeremiah 1:5 NIV

OVER TO YOU: Do you have a project which needs some more work? Do you need to ask the Potter for advice on what changes you need to ring?

SHIRLEY CORDER lives on the coast in South Africa with her husband, Rob. Her book, Strength Renewed: Meditations for your Journey through Breast Cancer contains 90 meditations based on her time in the cancer valley.

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Please visit Shirley through ShirleyCorder.com, where she encourages writers, or at  RiseAndSoar.com, where she encourages those in the cancer valley. You can also meet with her on Twitter or FaceBook.