Overcoming Emotional Hurdles: Pt. 3 — A ‘Time With God’ Audio Devotion

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Transcript

Here to help you put God first in your life.

You know, we normally put ourselves first, don’t we?

And we normally fit God in where He can fit in. If we have time, we’ll spend a bit of time reading the Bible, but usually maybe we don’t have time.

I encourage you not to let this little time together on the radio be your complete time with God each day, but begin making time with God more and more a part of your life. You’ll find great joy and fulfilment and meaning and spiritual growth in the process.

When you do spend time with God, I encourage you to have a little notebook, and each day just write down the reference of the Bible passage that you’re reading and then jot down a few notes about the spiritual lessons God’s teaching you, or as many people do, just start off by writing, Dear Lord, and then write your personal response to God for what he’s saying to you on that day.

This week we’re looking at the issue of overcoming emotional hurdles in our lives. And I want to take you to the book of Jeremiah in the Bible, Jeremiah chapter 18, starting in verse 3. Jeremiah says:

Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was making something on the wheel, the potter’s wheel that is. But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hands of the potter. So he remade it into another vessel as it pleased the potter to make.

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Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

Well, how can we apply this to our own lives? It paints a vivid picture, doesn’t it? You can see the potter there. He’s got his potter’s wheel spinning. He’s got the lump of clay in it. He’s shaping it.

If you ever tried to do that, you know how easy it can be to do something that makes the clay mess up and so the pot he’s making doesn’t work out, so he reshapes it into a different vessel. And he says, I can do that in your life too.

Well, what is there about yourself that you don’t like?

Being human, we tend to focus on the flaws in our lives rather than the strengths, don’t we? And we get frustrated about the things we can’t change. You can’t change the family you’re born in, can you? You can’t change your genetic structure. You can’t change the way you look, you can’t change so many things about yourself.

But God says, if you don’t turn out the way you want to be, put yourself in my hands and allow me to shape your life because it doesn’t matter what kind of a mess your life is in right now. If you allow me to shape your life from here on. I can shape you into a beautiful vessel. It may not be what you had envisioned at first.

But trust me, let me shape your life from now on. You may think it’s too messed up. It’s too ugly. Nothing good can come of your life, but you’re wrong. If you will put yourself completely in my hands, if you will trust me.

I will reshape your life. Can you put God first in your life today?

Can you allow Him to begin shaping your life? Put time with Him first in your life and respond to Him always with Yes, Lord, and see what God can make of your life.

I’m John North.

To go deeper in your faith, visit AFCI.com.au.

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