Tag Archives: submitting to God

March 3, 2025 · 5:52 AM

God’s Shaping Process

In 1501, a 26 year old named Michelangelo was commissioned to create the statue of David. The project had been attempted by two other artists who hadn’t completed the work. When the 18 foot tall slab of marble arrived, Michelangelo began chipping away large chunks of the stone. He then began taking away smaller pieces. Finally he began to sand and refine certain parts of it until it was completed. Three years later, what is now one of the most famous statues in the world, was completed. In 1504 the statue of David was placed in a chapel in Florence. There’s a story that when the pope saw the statue, he marveled at iPad asked Michelangelo what the secret to his genius was. Michelangelo replied, “It’s simple. I just remove everything that isn’t David.”

We read about this statue’s namesake in the books of Samuel. He was called to be king while he was just a teen. However, he wasn’t quite ready to be king. This young man would face giants, play his harp for a king who was jealous of him, be ran out of his home country, forced to live in caves, be joined by hundreds of society’s rejects and outlaws, and more for fourteen years. He had multiple opportunities to kill the current king and take his promised place as leader of the country, but waited on God. He understood God was chipping away everything that wasn’t David. He was being shaped and refined before he could be placed where God planned. He understood the artist knows better than the art when it’s ready. Until then, he submitted to God’s shaping and processes.

Philippians 1:6 says, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (NLT). Don’t fret if God is taking His time working on your life and moving you into place. He’s simply taking away everything that isn’t really you as He’s refining your life. We each have a need to recognize and understand that He is the artist and we are the work of His hand. He will be faithful to complete what He began. You are His masterpiece created for the works He created you to do (Ephesians 2:10). Like a master artisan, He is working diligently in your life at His pace not yours. Today, make a point to tell Him you submit to His design and timing. Let Him continue the work of shaping you until He’s ready by submitting to His shaping process.

Photo by Earl Wilcox on Unsplash

The Master’s Hand

I’ve been thinking of an old poem by Myra Brooks Welch turned into song and sung by Wayne Watson. It’s called, “The Old Violin: The Touch Of The Master’s Hand”. It starts off, “’Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer thought it hardly worth his while, to waste his time on the old violin, but he held it up with a smile.” He asked for a dollar for it, maybe two. Then an old man came up, tuned it and played a beautiful melody. The auctioneer then asked for $1,000. It then switches and says, “And many a man with life out of tune, all battered and bruised with hardship, is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd, much like that old violin…But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd never can understand, the worth of a soul and the change that is wrought by the touch of the Master’s hand.”

In Matthew 14, Jesus is grieving John the Baptist’s death and just wants to be alone. He gets in a boat and sails to the middle of the Sea of Galilee, but the crowds follow His every move from the shore. He goes to the shore and heals the sick all day long. By late afternoon, the disciples catch up and presume to tell Jesus what to do. “You should send the crowds away to the nearby villages to buy themselves some food.” But Jesus has other plans and told them to feed the crowd. They answered in verse 17, “But all we have is five barley loaves and two fish.” “Let me have them,” Jesus replied” (TPT). He then fed the 5,000+ crowd with so little.

If you’re like me, you look at your life and say, “God, how can use you me? I have so little to offer.” But going back to the poem and the story in the Bible, value is measured based on whose hands something is in. You and I can only do so much with what I have to maximize our potential. The exponential change and growth happens when we surrender our lives to Him and place them in His hands. Your background, past and brokenness limit you in your own hands, but becomes limitless in His. Where you disqualify yourself, He tunes up and plays a beautiful melody that touches others. Submitting our life to Him is the greatest thing any one of us can do because that’s when we place it in the Master’s Hands.

Photo by Kenny Luo on Unsplash

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February 21, 2019 · 5:49 AM

A Leadership Change

Several years ago, I owned a childcare center. One of the conversations I had with new families to the center was about authority. I would tell them, “Once you walk through the door into my center, I am your child’s authority figure. I need you to take a back seat. No man can serve two masters including your child. They will test the boundaries to see who is in charge, and they need to know it’s me. Otherwise, I won’t have any authority over them when you walk out that door.” I learned early on that if a child thought their parents had more authority over them than I did, they would start breaking the rules the moment their parents showed up, and the rest of the class would follow.

I tell you that story because you and I have a very similar issue with our flesh. It likes to do whatever it wants, and quite often, we let it get away with it. When it’s hungry, we feed it whatever it craves. When it’s sleepy, we go to bed or hit the snooze button. Also, when it wants to satisfy its sinful desires, we give in. That’s why it’s so hard for us to stay awake to pray and also to fast. Our body throws a temper tantrum because it’s not getting its way, and we appease it to get it to calm down.

When we walk through the door of salvation, we need to cede authority to Jesus. Our flesh needs to understand that you and it are not in control anymore. Inviting Jesus to be the Lord of your life means that you are giving up your authority over your flesh. In Luke 9:23, Jesus said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat – I am” (MSG). Giving your life to Jesus is about giving up authority over your flesh. It’s telling it, “I am no longer your authority. Jesus is. You have to obey Him.”

The hardest thing for any of us to do is to give up that authority. I’m sure that’s why Jesus compared it to being crucified daily. It’s a hard process, but a necessary one if we are going to follow Him. We have to let Him lead us, and our flesh, which means we have to get out of the driver’s seat of our life. Being a Christian is more than saying a prayer. It’s the transition of leadership in your life. It’s a lifestyle change that you’ll battle your flesh over ever day of your life. If you truly want to follow Jesus, give Him the authority He’s asking for in your life.

Photo by Alex Woods on Unsplash

Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other writing ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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Tagged as christian living, Devotional, devotional on, fighting your flesh, Making Jesus lord of your life, no man can serve two masters, putting Jesus in charge, spiritual growth, submitting to God, take up your cross, taking up your cross, what does the bible say about, who’s in charge