Molded by the Potter | July Blog – The Crowning Jewels

A Soft Heart of Humility
But now, O LORD,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand.
Isaiah 64:8

Scripture talks a lot about the importance of a soft and teachable heart. In Scripture, God was often frustrated with people because of their hard heartedness. Recently, I was having a conversation with someone and I was struck by their softheartedness and humility. In the middle of this conversation, I had this thought “God can do anything with them because they’re so softhearted.” It made me want to live with a soft heart of surrender before the Lord.

When you live with a soft heart, you allow yourself to be molded by the Lord. You are open to feedback, receptive to His voice, and have a desire to learn and grow. Being teachable is one of the greatest qualities a person can have. We are called to be soft and moldable before God. When we remain softhearted before God, we allow Him to tell us who we are and form us into who He created us to be.

Pride disconnects us from God–pride says, “I am the way I am,” “it’s too late for me to change,” “this is the way things are.” Pride can often keep you trapped in sin or unhealthy patterns. Often, pride shows up in the unwillingness to try new things, take risks, or bitterness. It’s easy to slip into disillusionment when faced with disappointment, but lean into the Lord and allow Him to meet you there. Allow God to transform you into His image. If you’re facing challenges or hard situations, you can get hard hearted and bitter or you can stay soft before the Lord. Invite the Lord into every area of your life and trust Him with all of you.

The Finished Work of the Cross
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Revelation 12:10-11

The enemy comes to accuse you, to belittle you, and to sow doubt and fear into your life. If you’ve ever taken a step of faith and then instantly been hit with fear and doubt, know that isn’t the voice of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is kind and compassionate, He leads with gentleness and intentional correction–not fear or anxiety or confusion. In addition, the enemy comes to bring shame and condemnation, whereas the Holy Spirit brings loving conviction. His leadership is kind.

The Lord is your Defender and He fights on your behalf. God is for you, not against you. It is the enemy who brings accusation, fear, and discouragement. Right now, God is clearing the clouds and exposing areas where the enemy has come in with shame and accusation. This could be through the voices of other people, what seems like your own inner monologue, or circumstances that have you feeling defeated. The Lord is your Defender and your Advocate and He wants to fight on your behalf. How do you allow the Lord to defend you? Get in His Presence. Seek His face and His heart and He will show up on your behalf.

The lyrics of Rita Springer’s song, Defender, come to mind:

You go before I know
That You've gone to win my war
You come back with the head of my enemy
You come back and You call it my victory
You go before I know
That You've gone to win my war
Your love becomes my greatest defense
It leads me from the dry wilderness
All I did was praise, all I did was worship, all I did was stay still

Sometimes our very best strategy is to stop all of our strategizing and get in the Presence of Jesus and worship Him. As we do, He fights on our behalf. You don’t have to have everything figured out, but you do need to partner with what He’s speaking over you. Quiet the noise and confusion, get in His Presence, and worship Him. If you’ve been battling accusation, fear, or doubt, get still before the Lord and allow Him to minister peace and truth to your heart.

Proactive Partnership
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4.15-16

Many believers can become passive in their lives by taking the mindset of “whatever God wills,” but without making any decisions or taking any action steps. They say they’re waiting on God, but meanwhile God is waiting on them. Yes, there are seasons of intentional waiting, however Scripture tells us to come boldly to the throne of grace.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon brings this up–how waiting for the perfect moment means never doing anything or taking action. In life, we have to take action when things aren’t perfect, when the timing isn’t just right. Sometimes, the solution is simply taking action. Solomon states, “Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap” (Ecclesiastes 11:4). The fact is, it will never be the perfect time to start your project, take the risk, or step out in faith. Most of the time in life, you must take action before you feel ready.

Right now, God is looking for people who will co-create with Him. Who will make bold decisions and step out. For many, this is a maturing process where God is moving people from simply being servants who do whatever the master tells them to friends who get to co-create with Him. It’s not either/or, but both/and. You live a life of surrender before God and you take bold action steps, even when God hasn’t given you a specific direction. God is wanting to invite you into a partnership with Him. If you have a dream or a desire or you feel stuck, take action! Even if your step is small. It’s important to move and invite God to move with you.

Character Over Comfort
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.
Romans 5:3-4

God is more interested in your character than your comfort. To be perfectly candid, sometimes I resent this truth. I want to be cozy and live a happy warm-fuzzy life filled with sunny days, rainbows, and butterflies. No hardship ever. But the fact of the matter is…rainbows only come after the rain.

Rain gets a bad rap, doesn’t it? Cloudy days equal gloomy weather which equals seasonal depression for a lot of people. But without rain, you end up with a whole host of other problems. Drought. Famine. Lack of water. Plants dying. In fact, if you want endless sunny days with no rain, you can find it–in a barren desert wasteland.

Rain makes things grow. Just as the sun makes things grow. We need both.

We need laughter and play but we also need challenges. Challenges grow us. Challenges form our character. Challenges take people from immaturity to maturity especially when you navigate those challenges with God. We love butterflies, right? But if you help a butterfly emerge from its cocoon, it won’t be strong enough to fly. The act of struggle, of breaking free is the very act that enables a butterfly to catch the wind.

In the same way, it’s time to stop running away from things that are hard or uncomfortable. No, we don’t want to glorify pain and stay stuck in suffering to no end. That’s not biblical. However, we do want to recognize that challenges are a catalyst to growth. And struggle can be a doorway to breakthrough.

God is raising up a people with refined characters, whose hearts are pure before Him. He is raising up a people who will not shy away from challenges, but will instead face them head on, trusting Him. So rise up. Don’t run from discomfort. Rather run towards the God who has equipped you for every good work and strengthens you to face every obstacle. I'll be with you, over here, doing the same. Together, let's fix our eyes on Jesus, face our fears, and grow in Him.

At The Crowning Jewels, it's our desire and our mission to bring encouragement, to build others up, and to bring comfort to people’s lives (1 Corinthians 14.3). Each month, our founder, Anne Jackson, and our main writer, Katelyn Alexander ask the Lord what He’s doing in the coming month and for any words of encouragement He might have for His people. We believe that prophetic words need to be encouraging and edifying. Moreover, with a corporate prophetic word, not all words are applicable to all people. If our words bless you, please take hold of them and apply them in your own life. If it’s not specific to you, please pass it on to someone else who might be blessed.

As always, the prophetic is a free gift from heaven and will always be something we freely share. As a prophetic business, it’s our mission to bring encouragement and edification to people through the free gift of prophecy, with our product being jewelry.

We at The Crowning Jewels believe in the absolute, transformational power of declarations. We know that truth comes by hearing (Romans 10.17), and speaking truth is an active way for us to renew our minds (Romans 12.2). We invite you to partner with what God is doing and say these declarations for the remainder of the month. We would love to hear what God does! Please email us your testimony at hello@thecrowningjewels.com.

I remain softhearted and teachable before God.
The Lord is my Defender.
I trust God to meet me in my action steps.
God is molding me through challenges.
I am allowing the Lord to mold me into His image.

Each month we design limited edition pieces of jewelry, only available for that month, handmade with words and charms that reflect the monthly prophetic word. If this word resonates with you and you'd like to wear a reminder of its truths, click the pieces below to shop!