Day 4 – Forty Days in the Shade of God’s Care
The Irrational Boast of a Self-Made Man
Towering proudly in Boulder, Colorado stands a bronze statue, The Self-Made Man. Bobbie Carlyle’s carving portrays humanity, creating himself from a chunk of stone: hammer raised in one hand—a chisel in the other. I recently discovered the existence of this statue during a conversation with a woman at the San Jose airport. Our statue boasts of Boulder’s core belief: we create our own destiny.
Today billions of people etch this ideology on their souls: Self-Made Man—Self-Made Woman.
Personally, I shudder at the idea. On my best day, the scale quivers right around average. On my own, I am an ordinary gal, accomplishing ordinary things. However, I am not bound to ordinary, self-made limits. None of us are. We may appear common humans, but there is nothing commonplace about us. We are hand-crafted by an extra-ordinary God. Scripture states:
We are HIS workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.
~ Ephesians 3:20
He holds the hammer and chisel, carving us with his boundless power. He designs us for infinite works. Our best is no longer the best we can do. Our best becomes the best an Omnipotent God can accomplish. This certainty removes all restrictions of a self-made ideology. It we must boast, let’s boast in the fact we are empowered by Almighty God to accomplish our unique destiny in Christ.
Amen!
Thank you for what you do! You help those that believe in God and love Him to live in Him.
We hope to see you in Liberty Lake one day at your church.
Thank you for your words of encouragement, Carole!
This came at the perfect time for me! God always knows what I need and WHEN I need it to make me stop and go….Yes Lord! Thank you Patty! ❤️
Oh Teresa, I love God’s timing. Thank you for stopping by to be refreshed!
We miss you and Gary a lot! Was so disappointed when we got home from Arizona and found you gone, but will come and find you sometime. What church are you at? We miss your music, preaching, great smiles, and friendship, but WILL meet up again. Take care. Love,
Mary & Ken
We are planting a church that opens October 8th in Liberty Lake. You will have to come and visit us sometime, Mary. We would love to see you both.
What a special message from another ordinary girl who knows our
Extraordinary God. His chiseling is done in such a perfect way with
so much love and care. He will finish what He started. Wait til we see the other side of the tapestry.!!
Amen, Jane. I love that!
I’d like to continue to receive these posts , butvyour stay connected feature wouldn’t accept my email because I’m already on your list. Day 4 is the first one I’ve received. Thank you Patty.
I am going thru a tough time and I feel that you are talking to me. Although there have been alone days. I know that God has a plan for me and he will carry me thru this. This illness has made me a different person, things that were important are no longer. I am going to show more kindness, compassion and love to those that seek it from me. Thank you Patty as you encourage me to not lose faith with your messages.
I am so grateful that Jesus is using this to speak to you, Dyan. I pray that he will continue to give you grace for every moment as you walk through this physical trial. I’m standing with you! Patty
We miss you so much, my daughter Starla who lives in N. Spokane was babtized after receiving you instructions, came to join us on Mothers Day was saddened to find out you weren’t there. We’ll see you in October.
I’m so sorry I missed Starla on Mother’s Day!
So good!
Literally just sent a reply to a friend’s sweet and affirming email, proclaiming God’s role in my life and how lost I’d be without him, and then opened this blog post. I whole-heartedly stand in agreement as the daughter of a “self-made man”. I intimately know the repercussions of the carving of one’s own destiny; when a father ignores the Lord, his misguided intentions adversely affect his children for generations.
Oh Laurice, You are such a testament of how the Lord can rescue and redeem those repercussions of decisions that were made without Christ’s involvement. He is carving in you an incredible reflection of himself.
Patty, sister, I finally got to read this. You nailed it. This culture reeks of ‘self-made-ism’ and its hurt people and our nation.
God bless you and I’ll see you soon!
Love, hugs, giggles & prayers!