Chiselling

The Carpenter stared at the seemingly useless block of wood and decided to make a wooden man. He took up His chisel and began His work. He chiselled here and there, getting rid of what hindered His goal. After being hard at work for hours and hours, the Carpenter stepped back and stared at His masterpiece with pride. What had once been a useless chunk of wood was now perfect.

Character building takes time and lots of pain. Sometimes we wonder why we have experience certain things that hurt. We ask the question, “If God loves me, why do I have to suffer?” But I’ve learnt a very valuable lesson: it is in the darkest hours of our lives that we grow and learn the most, if we choose to continue to trust in God. Sometimes those times of pain are just the times God is chiselling away what shouldn’t be there, forming a masterpiece that will one day, in eternity, be perfect. He’s chipping away pride, vanity, bad habits and other things that get in the way of our effectiveness in the Kingdom of God. It’s because God loves us that our lives are not all sunshine.

God has been chiselling at my character a lot these last two years. It hasn’t been easy; on the contrary, it’s been painful. But I’ve matured and learnt a lot in the last two years. I still don’t understand why I have had to go through a lot of the things I’ve gone through. But I do know that God is equipping me for something that requires certain lessons. Don’t misunderstand me; God doesn’t cause bad things to happen to us, but He brings good out of the bad. He uses difficult situations to teach us and to mold us into someone who looks more like Him. Our characters need to be tested and chiselled before we can truly become mighty men and women of God. It’s a difficult, painful process. But in the end, it will be worth it. 

Must Reads

The following books are written by young people and I believe that every teenager and student should read them; they could change your whole way of thinking.

Do Hard Things- Alex and Brett Harris

Do Hard Things was written by the Harris twins when they were eighteen years-old. This book completely changed the way I thought about teenagers and our abilities. The subtitle for this book is “A teenage rebellion against low expectations”, or what they call a Rebelution. They challenge teenagers to rise above expectations and to do things that can change the world. Instead of settling for second-best, the twins challenge teens to step out of their comfort zones and do hard things for the glory of God. I believe that this inspirational book could change your life. To learn more about the Rebelution go to: therebelution.com

Lose Your Cool- Zach Hunter

Lose Your Cool was written by the modern-day abolitionist Zach Hunter when he was 17 years-old. Filled with inspirational stories about passionate people, Lose Your Cool challenges you to “Lose your cool and discover a passion that changes you and the world.” Zach calls teenagers to be passionate about what really matters and to allow that passion to stir them into action to make a difference in their community and the world. This book is extremely motivating for teenagers and I am looking forward to Zach Hunter’s next book. If you want to learn more about Zach Hunter and his fight to end modern-day slavery, you can visit his website at: zachhunter.me

I Kissed Dating Goodbye- Joshua Harris

I Kissed Dating Goodbye was written by the Harris twins’ older brother when he was in his early twenties. Joshua Harris writes about the emotional, physical and spiritual purity consequences of casual dating. He challenges single people to use their time of singleness to grow in God and become mature men and women, as well as to protect their purity. He challenges teenagers to wait for the person who they’ll spend the rest of their lives with. If you curious about why you shouldn’t date and what the consequences of dating are, I really encourage you to read this book.

Uncompromising- Hannah Farver

Uncompromising was written for teenage girls by college student Hannah Farver.  This challenging, encouraging and honest book speaks to teenage girls about many of the issues they face entering into womanhood. Hannah Farver writes that we’re meant to have a cause and many girls use vain substitutes (beauty, love, boys, etc) to take the place of the real Cause (Jesus). You can visit Hannah Farver’s blog at: hannahfarver.com.