God Turns Messes into Masterpieces
By Rick Warren
"God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life." Psalm 51:10 (The Message)
One day, God had a message for a prophet named Jeremiah. He told him to go to a potter's house and watch the potter make clay pots.
As Jeremiah watched the potter molding and fixing the clay, he noticed something: "Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot" (Jeremiah 18:4 The Message).
After Jeremiah saw this object lesson, God gave him a message for Israel: “Watch this potter. In the same way that this potter works his clay, I work on you” (Jeremiah 18:6 The Message).
You may have really made a mess of your life. Your “pot” is scarred from poor decisions that you made and things that were done to you. As a result, your life has not turned out as you intended.
But you are the clay; you’re not the potter. God is the potter, and he doesn't discard clay that's been misshapen by circumstances. He doesn't waste the pain that you've been through.
God doesn't throw out the personality and the essence of who he created you to be. Instead, he takes every part of you—the good, the bad, and the ugly. He puts it all in his gentle but strong hands. And then he starts over with shaping your life, applying pressure at just the right places to mold you and remake you into a beautiful, priceless piece of art.
That's what happens when you surrender yourself completely to God's loving hands.
God specializes in fresh starts. You can have a new beginning today, simply by starting with King David’s prayer in Psalm 51:10: "God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life" (The Message).
It's never too late to start over. Bring whatever chaos is in your life to God, the Great Potter. Trust him to do a new work in your life.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Be Encouraged Each Day to Live Out God’s Purposes
As thanks for your gift below to help share the gospel with more people around the world through Daily Hope, we’ll send you Pastor Rick’s new book, Daily Hope Devotional: 365 Days of Purpose, Peace, and Promise.
Each devotional starts out with a Bible verse, followed by teaching that explains God’s Word and shows you how to apply it daily so you can face any challenge and live the life you were created to live.
As a special bonus when you give, we’ll also send you What's Driving Your Life?: A 10-Day Turnaround for a Fresh Start. Featuring 10 hand-picked devotions from Pastor Rick’s new book, they’ll guide anyone feeling stressed, worried, or discouraged toward seeking God for a fresh start.
Request your copy below when you give—and take the first step towards a year of real purpose, lasting peace, and unfailing promises.
Thank you for your partnership!
*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.
This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
