Influencers Weekly Devotional- The Open Soul

September 25, 2015

The Open Soul   by   Rocky Fleming       But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8 (ESV)     I’ve been a follower of Jesus Christ for over sixty years. I would also say that I have been a disciple of His for only about 20 years. There is a difference, and at the heart of it is a reformation that occurs in the heart of a believer. It happened with me, and I think it is a transformational process that must take place in all believers to be Christ’s disciple. I have seen many things both in my life and others that tell me that God has a process that He uses to reform a man into someone who can be greatly used by Him. It doesn’t come easy and it is almost bazaar how it works. For instance:   - With a strong man God makes weak, but with a weak man God increases his power. - With the over confident man God humbles, but with the timid man God gives courage. - With the logical man God challenges his rigid ideas, but with the ordinary man God increases wisdom. - With the know it all man God teaches to know less and depend more on the All Knowing God. - With the rich man God makes poor in spirit, but the poor man is given the Treasure of the Universe. - With the thirsty man seeking Living Water he finds it, but the satiated and satisfied man remains thirsty. - With the prideful man God must break to use, but with the meek man God will build up to use.   I can go on with many more dichotomies about how God reforms a man for His use. But I think it would be accurate to say that at the heart of it is God’s desire to get those things out of the way that keep Him from having full access into our life, and by doing so it allows Him to do greater things through us. In other words, the old man in us must be removed so that a new man can emerge. This is the work of reformation in our life, so that a transformed life will be formed.   As I submit to you some thoughts about being abandoned to God and trusting Him absolutely so that this reformation can come into your life, I would like to give you a thought by Oswald Chambers that I read today. It serves as a foundation for moving forward into a life that can be used in creative and marvelous ways by God to accomplish things we could never do by our self. It connects nicely with the scripture in Isaiah that I’ve listed above:   “We have to maintain our soul open to the fact of God’s creative purpose, and not muddle it with our own intentions.” Chambers – My Utmost for His Highest   Right up front Chamber’s wisdom tells us that we need to focus on the thought about keeping our soul open for God’s creative purposes. What does this mean? I believe we need to understand that God is sovereign and He has every right to choose how He will use us. He doesn’t need our permission or insight as to what that will be. He doesn’t need us to beg Him for something that we think will fulfill us, and then changes His mind, as if He didn’t think of it in the first place. We have to trust His creativity, although at first it might challenge our peace of mind. From my own experience, I will say that whatever it might be that He has us do or be will fulfill us as nothing else we could choose for our self could ever do. But, we have to be flexible in God’s hands and not fight against Him to enjoy the process.   We need to understand that God is creative more than we can understand or conceive of, and for our own good we do not want our life to be limited by our own creativity over His. We want His creativity in our life, for He is able to materialize, organize, subjugate, and bring together His ideas so that they become reality. Think of that proposition? God can do anything He thinks of and He has all the resources to accomplish it. There is nothing that can limit God. This is the ONE who asks us to trust Him, and to trust that His plan for us is good.   Considering the trust issue. We need to understand that God has shown us His heart when we look at the heart of Jesus. Therefore ask yourself: What is there about God that makes Him untrustworthy in my mind? What is there that would make me suspicious of Him and make me think that if I sell out to Him He will alter my life into something awful? Am I afraid of changes that God might want to bring about in me and for me?   If we are afraid of these changes, it is obvious that we really do not know Him as we should and we need to get to know Him better. Guys, we need to nail it down that God can be trusted, for His character is at stake. That is why He used the term, for the “Sake of My Name,” many times in the Bible. In other words, God will do things that are within His character all the time, for His name and reputation are important to Him. If He says He will do something, He must keep His promise to do it, for His character requires it.   God is not a bait and switch person. However, God’s enemy Satan is that bait and switch guy that we should be suspicious of. Satan’s M.O. is to lure us into some appetizing temptation, and once there, he springs a trap on us and tries to destroy us and hurt those around us we love. So don’t go mixing up who does what and who should or should not be trusted. God is truth and Satan is a liar. It is as simple as that.   In all of Bible history, we see that God has always been upfront with us. He is faithful to His word and promises. Jesus never lessened the commitment or watered down the truth of what it meant to follow Him, even when people were clamoring to be around Him. This is true with the Father and the Spirit, as well the Son. God is very clear that His discipleship process will include discipline and pruning. He creates us, forms us, breaks us, and reforms us into the vision He has for us. It is painful to be in this reforming process under the Potters Hands. But it is good, for we are His clay and we can trust that He knows what he is doing.   If you find yourself on the Potter’s wheel today, will you trust Him?  Although the pain and inconvenience seems great right now, remember this: God knows what He is doing, and His plans for you will turn out great. He has something beautiful in mind, and it will be you.