By Jill Briscoe
It is said that Michelangelo “saw” David in his mind’s eye before he ever started crafting that uncut piece of marble. Before Michelangelo ever lifted a hammer and chisel and started to work. David was finished and complete. Michelangelo knew exactly what he wanted him to be. So it is with us. In God’s mind we were finished before we were started, and God knows in advance what He wants us to be.
God wants to chisel the “David” out of us! So, in His sovereignty, He takes the hammer of circumstances and the chisel of ministry, and He begins to chip, chip, chip away at this piece of uncut marble that is us. He uses tools of all kinds: political situations, the church, opposition, frightening circumstances, our tasks and callings. He will use anything He has to use to craft the likeness of God in us. The Master Artist has a plan. He has a definite pattern in mind as He works away on the image that will become a reality. And he never leaves His work of art until it is finished.
So next time you hear (or feel!) that chip, chip, chipping in your soul, take comfort and trust in God's sovereignty - that He will stick with you until the end. One day His work in you will be finished and you will be like Him!
I know I am more like Jesus because of how God has used the circumstances of life to shape me – circumstances I do not believe are by chance or merely coincidental. There was the chisel of the Second World War and of being brought up in wartime Britain. There was the chisel of college and my teacher training. Add to that the chisel of sickness and hardship. The chisel of marriage and children crafted some of the “David” out of me. Undoubtedly the chisel of disappointment and loss, of shattered dreams and broken promises played its part. Then there is the chisel of ministry itself.
What has been some of the chisels and hammers in your life? Perhaps you could spend time with the Lord thinking back to the surprises in your life. Maybe right now you are struggling with some broken dreams. Whom God chooses, He calls, and whom He calls, He chisels. Know that God trusts you with His challenges. It’s a compliment to have the Master Sculptor’s full attention.
As I have learned to recognize God's sovereignty and the tools of my heavenly Michelangelo, the Master Sculptor, I have learned how deeply He loves me. I am only a work in process, and the callings or tasks along the way are simply a part of His loving eternal plan in my life.
As God “chisels the David” out of you, learn to treat all hammer blows as divine compliments. He has a work of art in mind. Faith that is able to trust Him with the hammer and chisel is faith enough to finish.