THE TEA CUP
There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and the shop they visited had a beautiful teacup. They said to the store assistant, “May we see that? We’ve never seen one quite so beautiful.” As the lady handed it over to them, the teacup spoke suddenly. You don’t understand it said; “I haven’t been always a teacup. There was a time I was clay. My master took me patted me over and over and I yelled out, ‘let me alone’, but he only smiled an said, ‘not yet’.” Then he placed me in a spinning wheel, the teacup said and suddenly I was spun around. ‘Stop it! I’m getting dizzy! I screamed’. But the master only nodded and said, ‘not yet.’ Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me and I yelled and knocked on the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as he shook his head, ‘not yet.’ Finally, the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. There, that’s better, I said. Then he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes are horrible, I thought I would gag. ‘Stop it! Stop it!, I pleaded, I screamed, I cried until he stopped. Then, he placed me in another oven even hotter than the first. Again, I yelled and shouted ‘Get me out of here’, but all the time I could see him through the opening just shaking his head and saying, ‘not yet.’ Then I know there wasn’t any hope, I would never make it. I was ready to give up. Suddenly the door opened. He took me out and placed me on the shelf again. One hour later, he handed me a mirror and I couldn’t believe it was me. It’s beautiful, I’m beautiful. I want you to remember he then said; I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I left you alone, you would have dried up. I know it made you dizzy as you spun around on the wheel, but if I had stopped you would have crumbled. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I had not done that, you would never have hardened and you would not have any color in your life. And if I hadn’t put you back in the second oven, you won’t survive very long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you. Moral: God knows what He’s doing for all of us. He is the potter, we are the clay. He will mold us so that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing, and perfect will. Let this story remind you that God has a perfect plan for your life. He may need to place some obstacles in your life to strengthen your character, so that you may become strong in the days of greater adversity. Don’t get discouraged when you feel like the heat of the struggle is going to burn you. God knows exactly when to pull you out and deliver you from the problem, and when He does, you will be much wiser and stronger than you were before. God knows your inner strength and ability to be strong in the midst of a problem.
< Unknown Author >
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ…This is just a story but it’s true. We all had our “desert times.” Some of us for a while. Others may even go through it right now. While others will be going through it for as long as they live. Don’t be discouraged. God allows us to go through “desert training” in order to prepare us for a greater ministry. He did this to Moses, Joseph, David, Elijah, apostle Paul and others He wanted to use mightily in His ministry. He might be doing it to you right now.
As for me, I praise and thank the Lord for allowing me to go through my “desert time” even if I had to go through it for the rest of my life because I realized that He is using me effectively despite my disability and I have accomplished more for His glory than when I was physically strong.
************************
If you have enjoyed reading this Just A Thought post, please consider sharing on social media. Your efforts will bless this ministry and prove to be a blessing to others that may not know about Everyone’s Apostolic
