From: Mary Padgett Ministries, Inc.
A Word In Due Season
CHISELED BY TRIAL
Scripture: Proverbs 11:2 (Amplified) "When swelling and pride come, then emptiness and shame come also; but with the humble - those who are lowly, who have been pruned or chiseled by trial and renounced self - there is skillful and Godly Wisdom and soundness."
A famous sculptor once said that when he begins to work, he doesn't see a "large mound of nothing." Instead, he envisions a definite form within the material that he is working with. He then chisels away little by little that which is not needed until the desired image manifests itself.
Do you remember when you were young and had the answers to all of life's questions? You had life so completely figured out that you made confident statements about how you would handle your affairs. Your children would be perfect and would never act like other children. You would live at the top of the world and never struggle like your parents. And you would certainly never get out of shape physically. The pride of youth swelled within you because you thought you were in total control of life.
However, along the way, things began to change and you discovered that you were not quite as smart as you thought you were. You began to face the same problems with your children, finances, and health as those that you had criticized. When the responsibility became yours, you found that life was not as easy as you had thought. It seemed that you couldn't get ahead because you were facing one trial after another, each bringing you into another place of emptiness or shame. You could feel the blows of the sculptor's chisel as it continually brought you to a lower state. As the chisel cut into your very being, you wondered if God had totally forgotten you.
Please know that God has not forgotten you or forsaken you. He is simply in the process of changing you and bringing you to the conclusion that He is smarter than you are and that His ways are higher than your ways. Like the sculptor, He doesn't see a 'large mound of nothing" when He looks at you. He sees His image inside of you and wants that image to be manifested to the world. Thus, He takes the trials the enemy means for evil and then by special design He uses each one to chisel away the pride and other impurities that are within your heart and soul. Each blow of the chisel causes you to renounce something of self and release that portion to God. As you humble yourself and surrender all that you are ... to become all that He wants you to be, He forms you into the image that He has designed and fills you with skillful and Godly wisdom. +++
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