BH Bulletin - Monday 17 August 2020

Thought for the Day by Dave Howarth ​(Lead Pastor Holy Cross Church)

​“Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ Does your work say, ‘The potter has no hands’?” Isaiah 45:9
 
Even when God says “Woe” to us, it is a gift; a kiss from heaven. For he knows what we don’t know, loves like we can’t understand, and is working behind the scenes in ways that will dazzle us one day.
 
I’m writing this on Thursday 13th and my wife and I are in a state of shock and sadness. Earlier today, my brother in law fell while climbing in the Alps. By this time tomorrow he is expected to have died from his injuries. He leaves a wife and four under-18 children. Thankfully, he and his family are in Christ. He was the senior pastor of a church-planting church in Paris. We’re so sad. We believe God was and is sovereign over this. Therefore, I might think I would run the world better than God.
 
We all have that tendency, at least subconsciously. How foolish! For we’re such a mix of self-serving agendas and godly desires. So imagine how disastrous it would be if you or I could borrow God’s sovereignty for even 15 minutes. Indeed, this is the biggest wrong of our world – that we humans exalt ourselves above God.
 
A potsheard is a fragment of pottery. We are potsherds living among potsherds — mere clay in God’s mighty potter-hands. God’s heart is huge, and his ways are perfect (even when they make us weep). His timetable is impeccable (even though we whine about it). How foolish we are to quarrel with our maker, redeemer, and Father.
 
There is a Day coming when God will put all things right, and make all things new and beautiful. Until that Day, when we vex and carp and rail against the way he wishes to do his job, may God grant us quick repentance and a deep trust. We sure need that right now. But we’re not the only ones.