Good stuff

So for the past several months, I have been studying in the book of Isaiah. I'm up to chapter 45 and this was just so good that I had to share:
"Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' or 'Your work has no handles'? Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you begetting'" or to a woman, 'With what are you in labor'"? (ESV, Isaiah 45:9-10).

This actually made me laugh! Because this is what I visualized when I read this...think about a time when you were making something, cooking something, doing SOMETHING where you KNEW what you were doing, but someone was standing there at your elbow (who has never done what you are doing) and watching you and giving you "helpful" advice. What was your reaction? Hehe, I can tell you that mine wasn't very nice...probably something along the lines of "leave me alone, I know what I am doing"...followed with an exasperated sigh and possibly an eye roll...

Think of that time, when someone was telling you what to do, even though they didn't know what the outcome was supposed to look like, and compare that to when we try and tell God when things are supposed to happen...interesting huh? We can't see the big picture, God can. We don't know how things are supposed to unfold, God does. So, how presumptuous is it that we try and tell God what to do and when to do it (and believe me, I do this A LOT)? And what a gracious God we have that He doesn't say "Oh my GOSH would you just shut up already!?"...instead He patiently teaches us to wait on Him, through lessons (easy and hard, sweet and painful). He may let us have our own way for awhile, until we see what a mess that is and come running back to Him or we may get a big fat, no-bones-about it "NO". It's a daily decision we believers have to make each day- giving God the control, yielding to His wisdom, letting Him take the reins we so desperately want to hold. Next time you find yourself aruging with God about His timing, think of yourself as a little clay pot saying "um, hello!? Where are my handles?" If that doesn't make you grin and take a step back from your presumptuousness...well let me know and I will pray for you ;-).