Crooked Vessel

by
DIEUNOVIC KANYINDA

Isaiah 64:8 AMP
“Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our Potter, And we all are the work of Your hand.”

If a jar had fallen to the ground and had been broken or had cracks on it, or sustained deformities, and was not straight anymore, making it difficult to be used for the purpose intended, would you still use it or discard it? Most certainly, you’d discard it deeming it unsafe or even useless. Isn’t it?

Would our God treat us in the same way? No, He wouldn’t.

Hello friends, welcome back to YOUBLNG, ‘cause you belong! it has been a very long time since we shared something together, I am glad and grateful to God that I am back.

The very title of this blog article has been what I’ve gone through over the past months, a “crooked vessel” as I labeled myself, feeling unworthy to be used by the One who placed this ministry in my heart.

I found myself in a place that felt strange to be in and I wasn’t proud of myself, condemning myself, I said, surely I can’t live this way, but the unfortunate part was that I forgot that I had to rely on God’s sufficiency for my needs, falls, and shortcomings.

I felt unworthy of God’s grace and goodness, and by the time I realised that I could live differently than what I was feeling, that reality felt unreachable in that moment. Well, I continued showing up at church whenever I could, there were days when I would be an hour late to church and I didn’t feel bad. There were times I didn’t feel like going to church, yet, I kept praying and reading my Bible. No matter how you’re feeling, just keep going back to God.

The lies were sitting right in front of me, waiting for an opportunity to mess with my mind. I thought to myself that I was a mess, and I couldn’t be used by God. Like how do I serve God, how do I write articles and daily devotions whilst I’m feeling like a failure and unclean? So it was easy to go back to what felt comfortable, living an ordinary life while deep in my heart I knew and still know that I’m called to greater, to a supernatural life that can only be achieved and lived in Christ alone. But this felt so far to reach. I wanted to write and get back on what I loved doing, but it felt like there was a force pulling me back every time I tried to make a step forward. Unpleasant feeling, right? But our God is a faithful God.

Jeremiah 18:4-6 AMP
“But the vessel that he was making from clay was spoiled by the potter’s hand; so he made it over, reworking it and making it into another pot that seemed good 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?” says the Lord. “Look carefully, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.”

Wow, isn’t the Scripture above just good news? Throughout the whole time as I felt useless and full of sin, God has been standing there waiting for me to just surrender. And when I surrendered and still felt useless within me, God continued working on me, the truth is that, my feelings aren’t the true reflection of God’s love for me, my feelings are a perception of what I perceive physically and what seems to make me feel comfortable in the moment. That’s true right there, that’s why we shouldn’t rely on how we feel and such, but rely on what the Word of God says about us.

Our lives are continually being transformed in the presence of Jesus, and that’s why we’re invited to spend time in His Presence. Jesus didn’t come for the healthy, no, He came for us who needed Him and still need Him every single day of our lives (Mark 2:17).

I tried carrying and fixing myself but that didn’t seem to work cause it was never meant to work. You were created for and by God, for His good pleasure (Rev. 4:11) and your life was meant to be lived with Him not outside or without Him.

The power of community

James 5:16 AMP
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].”

Life was never meant to be lived alone, they’re so much going on around us, noises from all around us and if we’re not grounded into a Godly community, we’re making ourselves a vulnerable prey to the enemy. Community has helped me overcome some of the lies in my head. With a community you get to share your story and realise that you may not be the only one going through some hard time and challenges, you get to share and encourage each other and by doing so, encouraging even yourself. You get to pray for each other and create an army that joins heaven, oh how beautiful is that, to have brothers and sisters who diligently pray for you and you pray for them.

Don’t you ever let your shortcomings keep you away from God, run to Him, He loves you just as you are, David kept running to God and that made a difference in His life and was called, “a man after God’s own heart”, it’s not his perfection (well to be honest, he wasn’t perfect) that got him that title but his heart posture (1 Sam. 13:14, Acts 13:22)

Today, they’re so much going and God says keep coming to Me, bring your faults, failures, fears, secret sins, struggles, whatsoever it is, bring it to Me, let me help you through it all and while you’re at it, find a community, be rooted in God’s Word, spend time in His presence, encourage someone. Your story could be a glimpse of light to someone else. I may have labeled myself as a crooked, broken, useless, or unworthy vessel, but He NEVER labeled me as such, that has been a perception of myself through the lens of the enemy’s lies to keep me in bondage and far from serving God’s purpose.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 AMP
“All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 AMP
“Two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labor; for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and does not have another to lift him up. Again, if two lie down together, then they keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? And though one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

I am not “just” a vessel of God—but I am a precious, destined, masterpiece, CHOSEN vessel of our LORD JESUS CHRIST (Eph 2).

Today, I may not know what lies have you have believed in, what struggles you’re facing, but the truth remains this — God doesn’t label you as crooked, broken, useless, or unworthy vessel but as masterpiece, a great vessel for His purpose. The invitation lies right in front of you. Will you choose to surrender to Him and let Him work through you today?

Salvation Prayer
If you want to receive JESUS in your life as your personal Saviour and the leader of your life, say this prayer — remember it is the prayer in faith that changes everything.

“Lord JESUS, I am sorry for my sins, I repent of all my wrong ways, today I believe in You, I believe you died for me and rose from the dead. Today, I accept you as my personal Saviour, cleanse me and lead me. I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!”

Now that you have said that prayer, I encourage you to find a Bible based church/community to grow in your faith.

Love & Peace Fam✌🏾