clay in the hands

“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own’ or ‘real’ life – the life God is sending one, day by day.”

C. S. Lewis

We will be able to face and conquer our challenges more willingly and courageously when we understand that such obstacles are encountered as a natural part of living, and that our Heavenly Father has provided the way and the means for us to successfully meet the “unpleasant interruptions” that are part of our “real life.”

The Lord has made available to us, through prayer and faith, powers which will turn our challenges into opportunities. These are powers which will enable us to understand the Apostle Peter’s declaration that such trials of our faith are indeed more precious than gold; experiences that will strengthen and refine us.

Rex D. Pinegar

“Here then is a great truth. In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. In this way the divine image can be mirrored from the soul. It is part of the purging toll exacted of some to become acquainted with God. In the agonies of life, we seem to listen better to the faint, godly whisperings of the Divine Shepherd.

“Into every life there comes the painful, despairing days of adversity and buffeting. There seems to be a full measure of anguish, sorrow, and often heartbreak for everyone, including those who earnestly seek to do right and be faithful. … In this way the soul can become like soft clay in the hands of the Master.”

James E. Faust