In 2019 the word “shifting” kept coming to mind and I believe that a “shifting” did indeed take place in 2020. Some synonyms for the word “shifting” include “movement”, “change”, “rearrangement”, “alteration”, “relocation” and “repositioning”. I believe the aforementioned came to pass in many of our lives last year with C-19 and the lockdown. That “shifting” also came to pass for many churches as they were forced to close for a period, cancel events, or have smaller gatherings, etc.
In my quiet time with the Lord, the word “reshaping” came to mind, and when I asked the Lord what He was reshaping; His church and our lives came to mind. This was immediately followed by thoughts of a potter and clay.
When I searched out the scriptures, I found Jeremiah 18 vs 1 to 6: This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 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. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.
Why did the potter reform the pot that he was working with? Because it was marred. If we had to be honest, many of us, myself included, are marred in our thinking, actions and reactions, habits, and beliefs. But God wants to reshape us for the days that lie ahead so that we will be more effective for His Kingdom and more “in shape” for what He had called us to do. Some synonyms for the word “reshape” include “reform”, “remodel”, “reconstruct”, “redefine” and “renew”.
I believe that 2021 may be a year of reshaping for many believers and for the church (the true church that is), but that God can only do that reshaping if we allow Him to – if we yield to His will that is. We can “rebuild” our lives and our churches in our own strength, according to our own ways; or we can take time to seek the Lord and let our Heavenly Father do the reshaping and rebuilding according to His ways, both for our own lives and for our churches.