God's Handiwork
Ephesians 2.10 tells us that we are God’s handiwork, his workmanship, his masterpiece. Like a lump of clay formed into an instrument of use or value, we, as followers of Jesus, are something lumpy that God is shaping for his purposes.
A few years ago, I was on my first sabbatical and was re-engaging in woodworking. Enjoying a beautiful sunny day and the feel of a Dewalt power saw in my hand, I was in our backyard building a pergola for our deck when I heard the still small voice talking to me about the process of formation. As I was cutting 6×6 beams to join them at the top corners of the pergola with a lap joint, I noticed how the amount of pressure applied to the tool was very important to the speed and quality of the cut it made. Too much pressure slowed down the blade. Not enough pressure didn’t actually cut the wood. It was important in forming these pieces to apply an appropriate amount of pressure, and then let the tool do the work.
As I look back over the last year (well, realistically many years), I see that times when I have felt uncomfortable because of new frontiers of ministry, conflict, discouragement, uncertainty, or challenges, those were points of pressure that the Lord was using to form me – enough pressure to get my attention, but not too much that it crushed me. God was using my discomfort to shape me – like when he caused his people to be hungry in the desert and then fed them to show them they could rely on him.
In a similar way, feeling these pressure points compelled me to seek God, and he has drawn me to various tools he has made available to his people that help with his process of formation. Tools like the practices of Sabbath, spiritual direction, solitude, and meditation on Scripture have served to open space for God to do his shaping work in me.
At present, I still feel like I’m in a liminal space with a lot of uncertainty of what God is up to in our church and in me personally, but I’m grateful to know that when I feel the discomfort of any number of pressures in my life, I have a loving Father who uses pressure to make something beautiful and of lasting value.
– Rev. Dave Driedger, Lead Pastor at Lakewood Alliance Church
