Week Thirty-One - It's Not Supposed to Be This Way

I want to share some thoughts from a book I enjoyed by Lysa TerKeurst: It's Not Supposed to Be This Way. It's well worth reading!

Here's what she writes,

"What makes paintings so delightful? We already know a painting isn't going to look like a photograph. And that's what makes it art. It's been touched by a human. It's been created by someone whose hands sweat and who can't possibly transfer divine perfection from what her corneas see to what her fingertips can create.

Even the best painters will get something off-scale, out of alignment, a shade too dark, or a hair too thick. It will be flawed. And that's why we must make a crucial decision: What will we do with the disappointment?

Will we see the human behind the work? The heart that dared to hold the brush dripping with color? Remember that she was the courageous one. She was the one who showed up and took the risk. She braved the disappointment of others. She lived. She made her mark.

I fear you have a picture of my messy that's way too tidy. Maybe you've looked straight on at my faith and made some fine-sounding assumptions and conclusions that are impressive but not true. If you do this, you may think that when things get messy in the process and progress of your journey, maybe your faith isn't strong enough. Dear one, that's not true.

Weak moments don't make weak faith. Weak moments make us even more aware of our need to press into faith. A faith in God that helps us know that what we see isn't all there is. Weak moments are also clues telling us what needs to be addressed right now in this part of the journey. Don't beat yourself up for weak moments. But don't ignore them, either."

I enjoyed those thoughts, and they left me with some questions. Are we guilty of looking at the faith of others and feeling we pale in comparison? Do we expect things to be perfect and fall into disappointment when reality hits? Do we judge our weak moments as defining instead of challenging us to greater growth? Do we give up too easily?

Then, she went on to talk a bit about dust.

"Dust is messy. We don't even like to touch dust, especially if it's made up of the shattered pieces of our own hearts.

Thankfully, we don't have to. We can hand it over to God, the One who forms our dust into something we want but never could have made for ourselves.

Jesus used the dust of the ground to restore a man's sight in John 9:5-6  When mixed with water, dust becomes clay. Clay, when placed in the potter's hand, can be formed into anything the potter dreams up. Isaiah 64:8 & John 18:6

Dust doesn't have to signify the end. Dust is often what must be present for the new to begin."

Friend, we are but dust, nothing very beautiful or valuable, but in the hands of the Potter, we are bound for new creation. 

So today, if your life isn't perfect, if it doesn't look like a fine work of art or a porcelain vase, don't be discouraged. God is the designer. He is the creator of beauty. Yield yourself to Him and in time, you will be amazed at what He can do!