“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10, NIV

The large, burly instructor ripped the nose from the face of my clay sculpture and threw it across the room while shouting words of disapproval. At the time, I was too frightened for them to register, but his disparaging remarks left a lasting impression deep within my spirit. The mere remembrance of that dreadful day causes me to shudder.

The setting for this traumatic experience: a big-city art school in the South. The perpetrator: a ruthless sculpture professor who enjoyed intimidating freshmen. His target: the clay head I painstakingly labored over. His casualty: me.

I was proud of my creation. And the nose―well, it was just about perfect, at least in my eyes. I had no clue someone would view my creation with less pride. Nor did I realize how my view of myself and my ability was about to change.

Words―emit power! Their tentacles probe deep into our souls, unearthing emotions we are unaware exist. Words have the capacity to change how we think, feel and act. They have the power to uplift or to destroy.

Regardless of the power of the words that he spoke, it was neither my instructor’s words nor his actions that wielded the deathblow to my spirit. It was the negative self-talk I continued to feed my soul. My destructive internal words wore away at my confidence, not only in my individual creativity but in who I believed I was as a person. I second-guessed myself and my abilities. My God-given potential slipped from view. I only saw my failures.

God, our Creator, looked on all He had made and said it was good. We are His masterpiece―the pinnacle of His creation. It saddens Him when we view ourselves with disdain. We are created to do good works through our relationship with Him in Christ. It grieves Him when we minimize our assignments and dismiss our roles in His divine plan.

God envisioned the work first. Then He envisioned us. He created us for His specific purpose and enabled us to complete it. It isn’t about us at all. It’s about knowing our Creator and realizing His desire for us to join Him in His work.

The enemy is out to destroy our God-given tasks. He is out to destroy us.  It is essential that we resist the destructive words of the enemy and follow the detailed plans of our Instructor.

We are a team.  And as we work in tandem, we will truly know God’s perfection.

Blessings,

Starr