Setup
Spinning on the wheel, using time and pressure as his tools. Just the right amount pressure...just the right number of revolutions. Just the right amount molding, in just the right places. And the final preparation: just the right amount of heat and time in the kiln. This is how the craftsman makes a masterpiece...just right.
Psalms 119:30-32 I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me. I cling to Your testimonies; O Lord , do not put me to shame! I will run the course of Your commandments, For You shall enlarge my heart.
This is the testimony of David: "I want all you have for me, God. But when I said yes, I knew I was saying yes to something that looks risky...even bad at times. Don't put me to shame! I believe the course you put before me will expand my capacity to be with you. Enlarge my heart!"
I am living in a divine setup. Everyone is living in some sort of setup, either divine, one of their own making, or a snare they wandered into...there is more happening than we can see. If you have said yes to God, you said yes to the potter...you said yes to a divine setup to draw you to the one you chose so He could mold you into one who loves like Him. It takes God to love God, and He is faithful to shape us to the measure we allow. That is why Jesus said "count the cost."
Luke 14:27-28, 33 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — ...So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
God knows exactly how much wind, and the height of the waves, you can endure. He promised to never give you more than you can handle IF you will allow Him to be your strength. Why did He make that promise? Because He is sure to allow certain pressures...certain winds and waves into your life:
I Corinthians 10:12-13 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
The point is an increasing ability to "take heed"...to grow in humility...to be realistic about who we are, what we are facing, and who is responsible to take us through it. Humility is an honest accounting of what I bring to the table (willingness to agree with God and demonstrate it with actual choices...risks) and what Jesus brings to the table (everything else). Humility says with God as the engine, there is no mountain the vehicle of Tom Stolz cannot climb.
Faith and humility are like two strong and intertwined vines. You can't get more humility without an increase of faith, and you cannot get more faith without an increase in humility. They are not the same thing, but they are interdependent. An increasing revelation of who God is, how committed He really is to me, and How powerful He is to keep His commitments to me is essential for my faith to grow...but increasing faith is essential for me to get a new glimpse of who God is...so I can grow another inch in humility...and the wheel spins.
In theory, this sounds great, but in practicality, the cycle is RISKY...and sometimes even COSTLY. Job is the standard of this truth. Job's potters wheel spun hard and fast! But this is what Job said when the work was done:
Job 42:5-6 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”
The spinning of Jobs wheel left Him a powerful encounter, which produced a powerful level of humility in an already faithful servant. Remember, Job EARNED His experience by faithfulness!
Job 1:8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”
This is the truth: Jesus is powerful to command anything He wants. God could have consumed satan in fire on the very day He rebelled...but God had a plan to mature a family...a chosen people...a royal priesthood...in love. He has committed to using the least intense means necessary, to bring me to the deepest encounter with Him I will allow, without ever violating my free will...all for love. When I said "yes"...as I say "yes"...He lays a path of beauty, blessing, pressure, and pain before me...all designed to extract the spices...the fragrance that is produced in agreement with the Author of every beautiful and good thing! Jesus uses the evil intentions of the enemy to produce the very thing the enemy hates: wholehearted devotion to Jesus in humility! Who is this Man Christ Jesus??!!...the depth of calculation to accomplish His plans is unfathomable! He is brilliant in all His ways!
When Jesus was in the boat with His disciples, He was sleeping. The wind and the waves rose to a level that made them afraid. They imagined they were going to have to solve the problem of the sinking boat. They had a very immature understanding of who this man they were following really was. This is a story of low faith and low humility. In the end, Jesus commanded the wind and the waves to stop, but would command faith or humility into His friends. The entire experience was orchestrated to WOO the hearts of His friends. Jesus commands the wind and the waves, but He has committed to woo the hearts of men! It worked...in the end they marveled and wondered at the man...they took a step deeper toward the enlarging of their hearts.
Mark 4:36-41 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
The faith of the disciples was directly proportional to their humility...their knowledge of who He is...and all the power and wisdom that is in Him...and the knowledge of who they were: the prize of His heart...His very inheritance He is willing to lay everything down for, even to the point of death.
My heart is mine to give. It only opens from the inside. As I look at the wind and the waves, I can batten down the hatches, or I can sing to the one who looks like He is sleeping in the boat with me!
I set my heart to grow in humility and love...to run the course of His commandments, for He WILL enlarge my heart! Counting the cost is really only for newbies...everyone who has ever tasted and seen has declared that giving Him everything is the best deal ever!...even Job!
Psalms 119:30-32 I have chosen the way of truth; Your judgments I have laid before me. I cling to Your testimonies; O Lord , do not put me to shame! I will run the course of Your commandments, For You shall enlarge my heart.
This is the testimony of David: "I want all you have for me, God. But when I said yes, I knew I was saying yes to something that looks risky...even bad at times. Don't put me to shame! I believe the course you put before me will expand my capacity to be with you. Enlarge my heart!"
I am living in a divine setup. Everyone is living in some sort of setup, either divine, one of their own making, or a snare they wandered into...there is more happening than we can see. If you have said yes to God, you said yes to the potter...you said yes to a divine setup to draw you to the one you chose so He could mold you into one who loves like Him. It takes God to love God, and He is faithful to shape us to the measure we allow. That is why Jesus said "count the cost."
Luke 14:27-28, 33 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it — ...So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
God knows exactly how much wind, and the height of the waves, you can endure. He promised to never give you more than you can handle IF you will allow Him to be your strength. Why did He make that promise? Because He is sure to allow certain pressures...certain winds and waves into your life:
I Corinthians 10:12-13 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
The point is an increasing ability to "take heed"...to grow in humility...to be realistic about who we are, what we are facing, and who is responsible to take us through it. Humility is an honest accounting of what I bring to the table (willingness to agree with God and demonstrate it with actual choices...risks) and what Jesus brings to the table (everything else). Humility says with God as the engine, there is no mountain the vehicle of Tom Stolz cannot climb.
Faith and humility are like two strong and intertwined vines. You can't get more humility without an increase of faith, and you cannot get more faith without an increase in humility. They are not the same thing, but they are interdependent. An increasing revelation of who God is, how committed He really is to me, and How powerful He is to keep His commitments to me is essential for my faith to grow...but increasing faith is essential for me to get a new glimpse of who God is...so I can grow another inch in humility...and the wheel spins.
In theory, this sounds great, but in practicality, the cycle is RISKY...and sometimes even COSTLY. Job is the standard of this truth. Job's potters wheel spun hard and fast! But this is what Job said when the work was done:
Job 42:5-6 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, But now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.”
The spinning of Jobs wheel left Him a powerful encounter, which produced a powerful level of humility in an already faithful servant. Remember, Job EARNED His experience by faithfulness!
Job 1:8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”
This is the truth: Jesus is powerful to command anything He wants. God could have consumed satan in fire on the very day He rebelled...but God had a plan to mature a family...a chosen people...a royal priesthood...in love. He has committed to using the least intense means necessary, to bring me to the deepest encounter with Him I will allow, without ever violating my free will...all for love. When I said "yes"...as I say "yes"...He lays a path of beauty, blessing, pressure, and pain before me...all designed to extract the spices...the fragrance that is produced in agreement with the Author of every beautiful and good thing! Jesus uses the evil intentions of the enemy to produce the very thing the enemy hates: wholehearted devotion to Jesus in humility! Who is this Man Christ Jesus??!!...the depth of calculation to accomplish His plans is unfathomable! He is brilliant in all His ways!
When Jesus was in the boat with His disciples, He was sleeping. The wind and the waves rose to a level that made them afraid. They imagined they were going to have to solve the problem of the sinking boat. They had a very immature understanding of who this man they were following really was. This is a story of low faith and low humility. In the end, Jesus commanded the wind and the waves to stop, but would command faith or humility into His friends. The entire experience was orchestrated to WOO the hearts of His friends. Jesus commands the wind and the waves, but He has committed to woo the hearts of men! It worked...in the end they marveled and wondered at the man...they took a step deeper toward the enlarging of their hearts.
Mark 4:36-41 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
The faith of the disciples was directly proportional to their humility...their knowledge of who He is...and all the power and wisdom that is in Him...and the knowledge of who they were: the prize of His heart...His very inheritance He is willing to lay everything down for, even to the point of death.
My heart is mine to give. It only opens from the inside. As I look at the wind and the waves, I can batten down the hatches, or I can sing to the one who looks like He is sleeping in the boat with me!
I set my heart to grow in humility and love...to run the course of His commandments, for He WILL enlarge my heart! Counting the cost is really only for newbies...everyone who has ever tasted and seen has declared that giving Him everything is the best deal ever!...even Job!
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