Do you ever hear something that speaks straight into your soul? Something that goes so deep that it leaves you speechless? Today, I heard something like that.

I went to ministry tonight, just like every week. Although today, the message given really dug deep. It was like God was speaking through her and straight to me. So, I decided to share it. Maybe someone else needs to hear it, too.

There is this story in the book of Jeremiah (18:1-4) that talks about a potter and his clay. Basically, it says that when his clay doesn’t turn out the way he wants it to, he starts over and turns it into something new. God is like a potter. Actually, He is just like a potter, the best one. He molds each one of us on a wheel, forming us into who He wants us to be.

In case you aren’t familiar with how clay is made, it’s really just dust and water. So basically, we are all made from dust (Genesis 2:7 tells us that, too). God then takes that dust and water, mixes it into clay, and then throws it onto a wheel to make a pot (us being the pot). What happens when a pot falls to the ground? The pot breaks, into little pieces of dust. So, picture yourself as a pot. When we go through hard times, we have fallen to the ground and returned to the dust we started as. We hurt and experience heartache. We might try and put ourselves back together, but what happens when you try to put a pot back together after it breaks? You really can’t, because some of the pieces are lost when it falls. We, as people, work the same way. We can’t heal ourselves. We need help from God. He is the only one who can put all the pieces back together and bind us up. We need to give our dust to God because then He does something really cool with it. He turns it back into clay and makes something new with it. Isaiah 66:9 reminds us that God will never take something from us without giving us something better, more beautiful than we had before. When I heard that, I thought of all the times in my life when I have had something fail on me. Death of a loved one, a crushed dream, an ended relationship. Each time I experienced heartache and pain. But each time, God gave me something more beautiful than I had before. He gave me new dreams and wonderful people, but more importantly, He gave me His love. He turned my dust into clay and transformed me into a better person. He can do the same for you if you surrender your dust to Him.

Another point she made was this: God never asks for perfection, He asks for excellence. When you do something with excellence, it means that you do that thing to the best of your ability; with all your heart. This made an impression on me because I often find myself trying to do everything perfectly, but that just isn’t realistic. God doesn’t want me to be perfect. He wants me to do everything with all my heart, because that is what defines me. What I do and the love that I put into it shows who I really am, and who God made me to be.

I encourage you to give your dust to God. Don’t suffer alone, but find refuge in His love and salvation. Strive not for perfection but for excellence. Do everything with love; with everything you have within you.

Much Love ❤

Give the song “Raise a Hallelujah” a listen. It will encourage you to sing a little louder the praise and goodness of the Lord.

* Credit for this message goes to my friend Grace. The Lord truly works through her. *