SUBMITTING TO THE MAKER (JEREMIAH 29:11- “FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I THINK TOWARDS YOU,” SAYS YAHWEH, “THOUGHTS OF PEACE, AND NOT OF EVIL, TO GIVE YOU HOPE AND A FUTURE “)

God has always had good intentions for mankind since the creation of the world. He created Adam and Eve and placed them in a garden and had a good relationship with them and would visit the from time to time until man sinned against God. Despite our sinful nature, God intentions have not changed upon our lives. “For I know the plans I think towards you,” says Yahweh, “thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you the hope and a future”. For God’s plans upon our lives to come to be, we need to submit to Him.

Jeremiah 18:6(“House of Israel, can’t I do with you as this potter? Says Yahweh. “Behold, as the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, house of Israel”). We need to give up our lives to God to control and mould us as He intends. One thing that we must understand is that we are not our own; including every thing that we possess here on earth. We are just like clay which belongs to the potter and he does with it as he desires. God wants to be in control of everything in our life. He wants to guide us and direct us on the work to do, which songs to sing, which Word to read every day, what to pray about, who to marry and date and many other things in our daily life. For all this to come to be, there is a level of submitting to God that we need to desire.

In 1^st Kings 17 2-16, Elijah had fully submitted himself to the Lord and God took control of his life. Verse 4(“Go away from here, turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, that is before the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook. I have commanded the ravens to feed you there”). The amazing thing about submitting to God is that He begins to control yourself to the very small detail in it. Direction where to hide; location included, what to eat and what to drink. Later on, when the brook had dried in verse 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.” When the brook had dried, He also came to him directing him to the place to relocate to and He even goes ahead to prepare someone to take care of Him. I desire to have such intimacy with God. I like basing my message on the testimonies that I had heard in my life because the God who was with Elijah is still the same God we have today. I heard a minister of God testify on how God began using him. “Get into your car and drive to this church” God told him. The Pastor drives to the church and on arriving there, God tells him to drive back home, having not even stepped out of his car.

One of the things God does when you submit to Him is healing your brokenness. This I can testify from my life experience. I will be sharing this in another message. Psalms147:3 (“He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds”). This considers both spiritually and physically. Before God starts moulding you, he first refines you just as a potter refines his clay before he starts moulding. I am a student engineer and I understood this message from the processes involved in casting metals. One of the very first requirements of establishing good quality even before starting the casting process is ensuring that the materials is clean and free from any contaminant. This is exactly what God does to us. He cleans us from every evil that nothing is left unturned before He can mould us. Renewing of the mind is one very effective way that God uses. This is because the mind is a crucial part of our human life. Romans 12:2 (“Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of the mind, so that you may discern what is good, pleasing and perfect will of God.”) It all starts from our thinking.

Moulding some parts will always require an extra time and effort, just as it takes different amount of time to cast various products based on their design complexity. Just as the fruit of a tree might not all ripen at the same time, God will not always complete transforming us at the same time. All we need to do is continue submitting ourselves to God that we can come out as He desires. As vessels of honour. God will never leave His work hanging. Philippians1:6 (“I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”)

May we allow God to work on us as He desires by submitting ourselves wholly to His Kingship that His plans and will upon our lives will come to be. Shalom.