The Potter's Wheel

Do you like yourself? Are you constantly beating yourself up?

Is your faith effective when you don’t feel good about yourself? Too many people go around feeling wrong on the inside. They don’t really like who they are. They focus on their faults and weaknesses and are constantly criticizing themselves. That recording of what they have done wrong is always playing in their mind…”you’re impatient, you blew your diet yesterday, you lost your temper, you still struggle with that addiction, you should be ashamed of yourself, you can’t get anything right, God is not pleased with you.” Their internal dialogue is self-deprecating. They wonder why they’re not happy. It’s because they have this war going on on the inside. You are not supposed to go through life feeling bad about yourself. Quit focusing on your faults, quit over analyzing your weaknesses, quit beating yourself up because you’re not where you thought you should be. Here’s the key...you are not a finished product. You are on the potter’s wheel. God is still working on you. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says God changes us little by little, from glory to glory. You have to learn to enjoy the glory you’re in right now. You may have some weaknesses. That’s okay...we all do. As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us that we should glory in our weaknesses, as His strength is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9). So God is telling us to stop worrying about our weakness, as THIS is where HIS strength shows up. We get way too concerned about every little thing that is wrong with us and we focus on THAT which makes us self-centered and full of self-pity. As Joyce Meyer says…”you can be pitiful or powerful but you cannot be both.” Self-pity is idolatry. It is perverted. It is taking something that God intended to be given to others and turning it in on ourselves. The word tells us that in the last days before Christ returns “men will be lovers of themselves.” In other words, when we will take the love of God which is meant to be given away and turn it in toward ourselves the result is self-centeredness, which destroys us. The key is to focus on what is GOOD about you while God is perfecting your character.

There may be some areas where you know you need to improve but being down on yourself is not going to help you do better. It will actually make you do worse. Having that nagging feeling telling you that you are not enough and that you don’t measure up is not going to help you move forward. God accepts you right where you are! You have to accept yourself too, faults and all. God is the potter, we are the clay. He is the one making you and molding you. It may not be happening as fast as you like but you don’t control the timetable. Will you trust Him in the process? Will you accept yourself in the glory that you’re in right now? The problem with not liking yourself is that you are the only person that you can never get away from. You can get away from your boss, your teacher, your neighbor, your friends, that crazy cousin but you can never get away from you. You wake up with you, you take a shower with you, you go to work/school with you...if you don’t like you life is going to be miserable. Don’t go through life being against yourself. You may have some things wrong with you but you have a lot more things right with you. You may have a long way to go but when you look back you’ll see how far you’ve already come. Rather than beating yourself up for how far you have to go celebrate all the progress you’ve already made. As Joyce Meyer always says “I may not be where I need to be but thank God I’m not where I used to be.” Keep your flaws in perspective. We all have something that we’re dealing with. We are not perfect and we’re not supposed to be. And don’t compare yourself with other people. You may think that they have it all together. They seem happy and are enjoying their life but they are on the potter’s wheel too. The reason they are not upset and down on themselves is that they have learned this principle…”to enjoy where you are while God is in the process of changing you.” We think…”I’m going to feel good about myself as soon as I lose this 10 lbs., as soon as I break this addiction, as soon as I get my finances in order, as soon I get control of my mouth, THEN I’ll get rid of the guilt and shame.” God is telling you to feel good about yourself right where you are. If you don’t understand that we are ALL a work in progress you will go through life not liking yourself, because as soon as you overcome one weakness God will show you something else you need to improve in. It will be a never-ending cycle. You see, this life is all about being transformed into His image. We do that by being on His potter wheel. We must like and accept ourselves DURING this process.

God gives us all grace in different areas. And we are all born with different personalities and temperaments. My husband is so calm and good-natured. He is very easy going and rarely loses his temper. This is an area he rarely ever struggles in. When we first got married I would compare myself to him and always come up short. I was just the opposite...I got upset so easily and the slightest thing would make me angry. Our internal dialogue was very different. I was down because of the things I was telling myself about myself. I would constantly hear “you don’t measure up, you are never going to get it right”. It not only kept me from enjoying my life but was keeping me from moving forward and improving. You have to give yourself a break. You are on the potter’s wheel. You can’t change yourself. God has to give you the grace to change. It takes a mature person to accept who you are, to be at peace on the inside even though you have some areas you need to improve in. It’s easy to stay negative about yourself and stay depressed and down, but when you make this decision to accept yourself with faults instead of beating yourself up you start enjoying your life. Have the attitude “No I’m not perfect, I have some areas I need to improve in, but God I want to thank you for the glory I’m in right now. I know you’re the potter and I’m going to stay on this wheel being my best knowing that on your timetable you will change me.”

The scripture says in Hebrews looking away from all that will distract to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. You have to look away from your faults, away from your shortcomings. Focusing on your weaknesses will distract you from your purpose. Focusing on how you don’t ever measure up will keep you from all of the good things God has in store for you. This doesn’t mean we don’t try to improve. It means you don’t let the heaviness weigh you down so that you think there is something wrong with you. One of the worst mistakes you can make is to go through life being against yourself. So many people go through their whole life with this nagging feeling telling them…”you’re not attractive enough, you’re not smart enough, you’re not disciplined enough, you’ll never get it right.” They’ve heard it playing so long it their mind that it has become normal. This lie that you are not enough is the same lie that Adam and Eve believed in the garden. God put them in the midst of a finished work. They acted as if God didn’t complete them. Satan deceived them into thinking they were lacking in something even though they were already like God. The devil deceived them into thinking that they have to “DO SOMETHING” to become what God has already made them. It’s the SAME temptation today. The devil says, “do this, do that” because you are not complete. SAME LIE! Don’t buy into this garbage! YOU ARE ALREADY ENOUGH!

Don’t you think it’s time to turn off that negative recording and reject those lies? Why don’t you quit thinking about what’s wrong with you and start thinking about what is RIGHT with you?

You may have some areas you need to improve in but that’s okay...we all do! There is not one perfect person that has ever walked on this earth apart from Jesus. It’s okay to feel good about who you are while you’re in the process of changing. When a friend of mine asked her husband “what is one thing you would change about yourself if you could?” He couldn’t think of anything. This doesn’t mean he thinks he is perfect or doesn’t have areas to improve in. It means he doesn’t sit around thinking about everything that is wrong with himself. His weaknesses, flaws and shortcomings are not on the forefront of his mind. He doesn’t go through his day reliving his failures and beating himself up for past mistakes, letting that negative recording remind him of everything he is not. He likes himself and is proud of who God made him to be. Liking yourself is not prideful. It glorifies God, as He is The One who created you. You are His masterpiece. You are a prized possession, fearfully and wonderfully made. Yes you have shortcomings, but you are a work in progress. You are on the potter’s wheel. God has his own timetable and is changing you from glory to glory. While he is changing you feel good about who you are. Keep your head high and enjoy your life knowing that God will get you to where you are supposed to be.

It is a very powerful thing when you can say “I like myself, I feel good about myself. I’m proud of who God made me to be.” Most people can’t do this. They say “I would feel good about myself if I didn’t have these weaknesses, if I was a better parent, if I lost this weight, if I was more patience, if I hadn’t made these mistakes.” The enemy will always give you a reason to not feel good about who you are. Satan, the accuser, will make sure to remind you of what you’re not doing right, some area you are not up to par, some way that you fell short. If you’re going to have victory and have joy in your life you are going to have to put your foot down and say “that’s enough!" “I’m done being against myself. I’m done feeling wrong on the inside. I’m done focusing on my weaknesses. I know that I am a daughter of the King, redeemed, restored and forgiven. God is taking me from glory to glory so I’m going to look away from all that distracts and I’m going to enjoy the glory that I am in right now.” Don’t be surprised that once you start doing this that those voices in your head will scream, “you’re a hypocrite. You shouldn’t feel good about yourself...you still have that weakness” This is when you have to have that boldness to say…”yes I still have weaknesses but I am on the potter’s will and am growing and changing. In the meantime I feel good about me.”

Your destiny is too important to let that heaviness and depression weigh you down. Your time is too valuable to sit around thinking about everything that is wrong with you. It takes your energy, your creativity and your anointing. Start looking away from all of that. You’re on the potter’s wheel. It’s not going to happen overnight. It happens little by little. If you’re always down on yourself because you are not far enough along, you’re not growing as fast as you would like you’ll live frustrated. It’s very freeing when you can be happy with where you are even though you still have some areas you need to improve in. Think about the Apostle Paul. He said, “the things I want to do I don’t do and the things I don’t want to do I end up doing.” He wasn’t perfect. He still struggled in some areas. If he would have been down on himself he wouldn’t have written almost half of the New Testament. He wouldn’t have become one of the heroes of faith. You don’t have to have it all together to do something great. If you’re waiting till you overcome all of your weaknesses, until you perform perfectly to feel good about yourself you will be waiting your whole life. There are some weaknesses that God leaves on purpose so we have to depend on Him. Otherwise, we would think we could do it all on our own, by our own strength. Why don’t you start feeling good about yourself right where you are? If Paul can write almost half of the New Testament with flaws and weaknesses then you can accomplish your dreams with what you’re dealing with. When you are on the potter’s wheel you are the most pliable, the easiest to work with, when you are at peace with yourself, not angry and upset and disappointed on the inside. All this does is slow down the process. The right attitude is “I may have some things wrong with me but I’m at peace. I know I’m on the way. I’m in the process and what God started in my life He is going to finish.” Jeremiah 1:5 says “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you and approved you.” It doesn’t say He approves you as long as you don’t make any mistakes, as long as you perform perfectly. He approved you before you got here! He approves with those weaknesses, in spite of those shortcomings! You are no surprise to God. He knows the end from the beginning. He knew every area you would ever struggle with. That is why He has you on the potter’s wheel. That is why He is changing you from glory to glory. You are not defective. You are not a mistake. When God created you He called you a masterpiece. Don’t allow those voices in your head convince you to live down on yourself. Don’t believe those lies Before you showed up on planet Earth God already approved you! Since God approves you why don’t you start approving yourself? Why don’t you start feeling good about yourself?

There is nothing you can do to make God love you any more. His love is not based on your performance. It’s based on your relationship. He handpicked you. He chose you before you could choose Him. When you understand that the Creator of the universe approves you, you won’t go around condemning yourself, trying to earn God’s approval by being perfect and never making a mistake. YOU ALREADY HAVE HIS APPROVAL! Knowing this takes the pressure off. You can relax knowing that you are on the potter’s wheel. When those negative thoughts start swarming in your head, trying to push you down you can say back to them… “I know God approves me so I am going to approve myself. I am going to feel good about who I am.”

Paul said in Ephesians 6:14 to PUT ON the breastplate of God’s approval. Every morning when you get up you should say, “Father thank you that you approve me. Thank you that you are pleased with me.” You have to PUT IT ON! It’s not going to happen automatically. Thoughts will try and convince you that you don’t deserve God’s blessing. “You failed yesterday. You still struggle with your temper. You are still telling lies.” If you don’t put this on you will start feeling guilty, feel unworthy, like you don’t deserve God’s blessing. You have to put on the breastplate of God’s approval every morning because it covers your heart area, where you live out of. Being against yourself is not going to help you do better. Living condemned and unworthy will cause you to get stuck. You have to put on this approval. Fill your mind with thoughts “God is pleased with me.” You see, Christ is our righteousness. He is our identity. God approves of us because of what Christ did at the cross. There is where the divine exchange took place. Jesus took all of our bad and gave us all of His good. Once we start looking at HIM as our righteousness the pressure is off of our shoulders to be perfect. It’s not about what we do but about what HE already did! HE is perfect so you don’t have to be! God’s approval is not based on how good you are but how good He is! He approved of you before you showed up! He accepted you in spite of your comings! So PUT ON your breastplate of approval.

When Jesus was baptized at the Jordan River by John the Baptist a voice boomed out of Heaven saying, “this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.” Up to that point Jesus hadn’t performed one miracle...had opened any blind eyes, hadn’t turned water into wine, hadn’t raised anyone from the dead yet His father said He was well pleased with Him. You see, God was pleased with Him because of WHO HE WAS, not because of anything He had done. We think we must perform perfectly in order for God to be pleased with us. The truth is that God is pleased with you RIGHT NOW. He may not be pleased with all of your behavior but He is pleased with YOU. He has already approved you, already called you a masterpiece. If you start listening to the condemning voices in your head you’ll start living condemned and guilty. A lot of people today think that God is out to get them, that He is angry with them, waiting for them to make their next mistake so He can push them down even further. When you start speaking what God says about you the enemy will start accusing you, saying, “Just who do you think you are?” You answer…”I am a child of the most high God, redeemed, restored, accepted and approved.”

Are you putting on your breastplate of approval? Or are you wearing rags of condemnation, unworthiness and guilt? Do you believe God is well pleased with you or are you trying to earn His approval by trying to perform perfectly? As parents, our children make mistakes. They have weaknesses but we know they are growing, learning, making progress. If someone ask me if I was pleased with my children the first thing I would not do is make a list of all of their mistakes. I wouldn’t tell you all that they’ve done wrong the last six months. I would make a list of everything I like about them. THIS is the way God thinks about YOU. He is not focused on your faults, everything that you’ve done wrong. He’s focused on what you are doing right. He is looking at your progress. Why don’t you shake off the guilt? The right attitude is that “I am going to accept myself while God is in the process of changing me.”

The enemy does not want you to feel good about who you are. He wants you to feel wrong on the inside. The most important relationship you have is with yourself. If you don’t get along with you you won’t be able to get along with anyone else. It will affect every relationship you ever have including your relationship with God. You won’t go to God with boldness. You won’t ask Him for the super sized life that belongs to you. This is why so many people today have trouble in relationships. They are bitter. They are insecure. They are defensive. Not liking yourself spills over into every other relationship you have. Jesus told us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. You can’t love your neighbor if you don’t first love yourself. You can’t give away something you don’t have. If you don’t have a healthy respect for yourself, if you are not putting on this approval each day, knowing that you are a masterpiece, knowing that you are made in the image of God you will start focusing on your faults and shortcomings. You’ll end up feeling insecure and inferior and this will cause you to struggle in relationships. Philemon 1:6 says, “Our faith is effective when we acknowledge everything good.” If you’re acknowledging everything you don’t like about you...your failures, your faults, your faith is not going to be effective. It is going to cause you to get stuck. There is enough in life to have to overcome. Don’t go around against yourself. Quit taking inventory of what you don’t like. Start making a list of what you like about yourself. Start acknowledging the GOOD. There’s a LOT of good about you. Women are particularly hard on themselves in the area of their appearance. We tend to focus on what we don’t like…”I’m too fat, my thighs are too big, my eyes are too small, I’m not tall enough.” ” Our social media driven culture, where everything is photoshopped and filtered, is spreading the lie that girls must look perfect. We must turn these lies around! Instead of being critical of yourself SAY what God says about you…”I’m one of a kind, I’m a masterpiece.” Something powerful happens when you say,"I like myself." Something happens in the supernatural realm when you say this. Chains are broken... chains of guilt, low self-esteem, chains of insecurity and chains of inferiority. When you like yourself you are in agreement with God. Some people have never once said “I like myself. I like my gifts, I like my personality, I am happy with who God made me to be.”

If you don’t like yourself in a healthy way other people are not going to like you. You project what you believe on the inside. If you feel wrong about yourself you project inferiority, unfriendliness, and discontentment. You may not be where you want to be but you are on your way! God is changing you from glory to glory. Start enjoying the glory that you are in right now! Don’t go through life not liking yourself. God says YOU are His beloved daughter in whom He is well pleased. Do your part and start putting on the breastplate of approval each morning. Every chain that has been holding you back will be broken. God is molding you and transforming you into His image. He is taking you higher. With Him you are overcoming those obstacles and will become everything He has created you to be.

You are on the Potter's Wheel my friend. Enjoy the journey!

In Christ, Sherry :-)

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