For some time I have wanted to build a new, bigger spice rack for Cherie. This would make more room in the cabinet for other things, as well as organize the spices on the counter where she uses them. I recently found the time I needed to build a new spice rack almost half more in size than what we had. We now have a spice bleacher. 🙂

God speaks to me in my projects. This one was no different.

Before I ever started creating the spice rack, I had a plan. I knew what the finished product would look like. I knew the materials I needed and the final dimensions of the rack. I think this is what God meant when He said to Jeremiah (and all of us) in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”

So off to Home Depot we went. I needed wood, screws, sandpaper, and paint. I already had the tools I would need. I bought one large piece of wood so I could cut each piece from it to roughly the size I needed for assembly. In the same way, God prepares us for assembly by cutting some of our pieces to size. Pride, selfishness, lies, anger, etc have to be cut to size and humbled. All excess has to be removed or we won’t become what God intends. “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit” (John 15:2).

After the wood is cut to size, it had to be sanded. Sometimes we raise our hand and commit ourselves to God for a purpose. Like the preparation of the pieces for the spice rack, there is testing and refining that we need to go through to be ready for that purpose. “For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined” (Psalm 66:10). It may not come immediately. It will come when God knows we have the character and maturity to handle and pass the testing and refining. Like a good parent who knows their 5-year-old isn’t ready to learn to drive, God only refines us when He knows we are ready and have the ability to do well.

Now all the pieces were sanded and ready for assembly. God puts us together the way He wants for the purpose He has in mind. “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). The pieces of wood were drilled and fit into their proper places. At times more sanding needed to be done. Don’t be fooled. Our process never stops. There are always adjustments with God through our lives.

Finally the spice rack was assembled. In Christ, we can see who we have been formed to be. But we’re not done yet. We still need to be painted to show our colors and the full beauty of God’s workmanship. The first coat of paint was applied. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Againt such there is no law” (Galatians 5:23-23). The first coat was beautiful but still uneven, so a second coat was needed to “seal the deal”. Once the finishing touches were done, the spice rack was complete and could  be used for its purpose – gathering and organizing spices. In the same way, we are now ready to be used for God’s kingdom for the new purpose He has in mind for us – gathering people in the truth of God’s Word.

Of course, there will always be times of strengthening, chastening, and refining. But we now have the character and maturity instilled in us by God to overcome any obstacles. We know who to turn to for our answers, strength, comfort, and help. “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:12-13). Don’t give up! God always completes what He has started.