“Thunk. Thunk.” The dull blows of the axe made little impact on the four by fours holding the sign we so proudly erected several years ago.
Now the sign mocked me: Center for Pregnancy Care. I had to get rid of it. I was humiliated, broken, defeated. My daughter, a twenty-two-year-old graduate student, was pregnant.
I wiped sweat and tears from my face. I brought her up in the way she should go, Lord. I dedicated her to you, prayed for a godly husband, and taught her that sex is a sacred act between a man and wife. Don’t you care, God? What about your name? This is your reputation at stake here. Pushing the sign over, I let it lay on the grassy front yard.
Papa God gathered me in His arms and assured me He wasn’t worried about His reputation—and I shouldn’t be either. God is concerned about our perfection—shaping us, molding us, crushing down the clay, and putting us back on the wheel. The Potter is more interested in creating a vessel fit for His purposes than He is in His own good name.
Perhaps when we worry about God’s reputation, we are more concerned about our own. God will burn our pride in the fires of His holiness. It is hard to look into our deceitfully wicked hearts and realize God chastens those He loves.
You may not understand your trials and even feel they are unfair and incomprehensible challenges. God won’t whisk you through the challenges of life, but He will walk by your side as your comforter and guide.
Accept God’s plan and His purpose for you and your children.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
(For more devotions, visit us at www.christiandevotions.us.)
Charlotte Snead and her husband have six adult children and nine grandchildren. She is the author of numerous short stories and three romance novels. Visit Charlotte at www.charlottesreaders.com.