HIS FINISHING TOUCHES

Jeremiah 18:4-6 (New International Version)

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Then the word of the LORD came to me: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

Isaiah 64:8 (NKJV)

But now, O LORD,You are our Father;We are the clay, and You our potter;And all we are the work of Your hand.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth....., and has since then been creating. The work of His hands are a wonder to behold. His ways are humanly far fetched, and His mysteries difficult to unfold. God works in ways that are not our ways. His methods of preparation may not necessarily be our preference, but His finishing touches are of sterling quality, and His actual finished products are exquisite.

Once upon a time, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt.God promised to deliver them from slavery. Did He do that pronto? No,He rather hardened Pharaoh's heart and by this caused both the Israelites and eventually the Egyptians pain. And what exactly was God's intention? To show forth His Glory, which He was able to do in grand style, taking the Egyptians totally off-guard. In the long run, the fear of God did not only come upon Egypt, but fell on all their neighbouring countries.

Similarly, I sometimes wonder why God did not immediately give Abraham the child He promised him. Why did he have to wait for about twenty five more years for Abraham's body to be dead, and for Sarah to reach decades past menopause? Couldn't God have prevented Abraham from lying with Hagar, his wife's servant? In reality God allowed Abraham and Sarah's condition to reach impossible dimensions, even condoning their mistakes and miscalculations in the process. Thereafter, He(God) came on the scene and effortlessly performed a miracle - a ninety year old woman got impregnated by a hundred year old man, and delivered a healthy baby boy. God is wonderful!

Perusing the pages of the Bible, we come across events such as how God instructed the Israelites to walk around the walls of Jericho seven times amidst shouts.As the Israelites obeyed, the walls of Jericho fell down. This is unthinkable in the natural sense. But praise to God who performs wonders. The Lord God Almighty was at it again!

When Jesus Christ walked on earth, He had a friend named Lazarus who fell seriously ill. Jesus was informed about this, but did Jesus hurry to go and heal His friend Lazarus? No, He simply declared -"This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it - John 11:4." Jesus then stayed two days longer before He set off to go and wake His friend up. According to Jesus: "Lazarus is dead,and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him - John 11:14-15." Jesus knew that he was going to do a great miracle for the glory of God, therefore, he was not in a haste. In the end Jesus raised Lazarus who had died and had been buried for four days. This was a miraculous feat.

Sometimes God appears not to respond quickly to our cry. We often ponder and wonder why He delays and often times allows our situation to go from bad to worse physically. Beloved, God's eyes do see your plight, and His ears are open to your cry. He is planning a wondrous and magnificent miracle.His divine purpose and plan for your life is to use you to bring great glory to Himself. We are His instruments of Praise!

Rest assured, for the end of your story shall be awe-inspiring. Trust God even if He appears to be delaying. His works are never in vain. He weaves the different occurrences of our lives into a beautiful end piece. The finishing touches of God are spectacular, and His end product a miraculous spectacle.