Molded

You know that the things going through your head are the right ones when you feel good about what you are doing and you are not afraid of the repercussions of your actions. When everything seems to fall into place just as you had envisioned. Things take time to develop but you know when there is a shift in the paradigm of your life. Things you once saw as essential become distant and you no longer want to even attempt to make them a part of your life. There is so much in life that we think we can do alone and that is so far from the truth, it is strength from our creator that carries us everyday. We must set a standard to live in accordance with his word and with his truth in all aspects of our life. We have had some incidents at sporting events this year that I would say do not reflect the values of Christ very well and people say it is just the way of sport and that it is no big deal. In some ways I agree but at the same time you have to be smart about it. Would Jesus talk trash to his opponents and play hard? You bet he would. The difference is that he knows what is appropriate and what is not. Look through the Bible and Jesus trashes Satan time and time again because he knows that in the end he is the victor. When it comes to sport today you can give someone a hard time for not playing well and you can root against them to lose but when it comes to personal attacks, you have to watch the line. Nobody likes the enemy or the jerk who plays on the other team (even if you are just watching) but as Christian athletes and Christian fans it is our responsibility to reflect the values of Christ while not being soft, we have to be tough opponents and create a tough playing environment for opposing players and still maintain our integrity.

Now that I am off my soapbox, let us dive into what God wants to convey to us today. I believe that at any moment in time we can have our whole situation changed and we must adapt to what is going on around us. We cannot settle into a moment of our life because life is dynamic and it will catch us off guard if we are not prepared. We have been placed here to accomplish something great and sometimes we are not always in the best spot to do what we need to and therefore we see some change. This usually occurs at the most inopportune time for us and we see it as a nuisance but in reality it is exactly what we need but we are too busy with the rest of life that we feel we are being overloaded. Other times we feel that we are comfortable with where we are at and change just means more work and getting out of our box that we have become accustomed to. When Jeremiah went down to the potter's house in Chapter 18 of Jeremiah, the Lord was speaking to him exactly this message, God can do anything and adaptation is key to his work. Verses 3-10 state, "So I went down to the potter's house and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me: 'O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?' declares the Lord. 'Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I wanted repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.' " I have worked with clay and other things that you mold and let me tell you that sometimes it does not always work out the way that you want it to, other times you decide to do something else, and there are even times when it just seems that it is just too stubborn to get it to do what you want. This is exactly how God feels when it comes to our lives. Sometimes things just do not turn out well because we mess them up, other times he decides he has something better for us, and yes, sometimes we are just too stubborn to allow him to work and so he changes things to make it so that we see it through his eyes and he can complete what he started. Typically the end result does not change when it comes to God and his plans, usually it involves changing how we get there and as his clay, we need to learn to accept it and let him work through us, sure the kneading can be painful but when he starts to be gentle and he uses his soft touch and fingers to mold us, it can be the most awful thing ever and it leads to some of the greatest moments of your life. I wish all of this were easier done than said but unfortunately we are human, we just need to work at being loyal and allowing God's work to move us.

I want to apologize to my baseball boys for not being as strong as I should have this past semester. Things are changing and I promise the spring will be a good time. It is going to be hard work and some days we will want to quit but we are going to push through and we will grow together but more importantly we will grow in Christ. As for the rest of you, I hope you are all doing well and I hope that this post was meaningful and challenges you. As always, comments are appreciated and welcomed. Hope to hear from some of you!

God Bless,

Joseph Robinson