What Kind of Tool?

by Kathy Lay

This Week’s Verse: Isaiah 10:15, “Can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a whip strike unless a hand is moving it? Can a cane walk by itself?” (NLT)

Devotion:
With that unmistakable hint of autumn in the air, my husband was eager to get in some target practice in anticipation of bow hunting season’s opening day. Through our patio screen I could hear the “whizzzz…THUMP” of the arrows speeding their way through the air and finding the target.

Still, something was a little off. The arrow’s entry wasn’t as clean or precise as Shane would’ve liked.

It turned out that the bow—sitting idle since last winter—needed some fine-tuning. So off we went to see Big Joe, bow tuner extraordinaire.

Let me tell ya, Big Joe ain’t called Big Joe for nothing. And that poor bow was man-handled and tweaked and tuned within Big Joe’s big hands and with his big bow-adjusting implements until it reached the state of being perfectly tuned. Shane’s test shots then showed small, perfect holes, the sign of true, accurate shots.

Shane hadn’t changed his technique or style of shooting; it was the same. But the instrument required some pressure and adjusting before it could properly carry out its master’s will and hit the mark.

How like us! Apart from our Master, we can do nothing worthwhile. If He sees us struggling or missing the target, He fine-tunes us, bringing us to the level of performance He wills. Then He uses us as He sees fit.

This week’s verse takes place within the context of a warning to the king of Assyria. The Lord used him to humble the children of God. But then the king boasts and brags about his destructive prowess. God doesn’t let that go unanswered and poses the questions in the verse (through Isaiah) to illustrate that people are merely tools in the hands of God. It’s His power and skill that enables the tool to do the meaningful work it does.

The tool box is open. God looks through his menagerie of every imaginable instrument. He has a special job in mind and His eye finally settles on you, little sweet you, among all the others. Allow His big hands to wrap around you and guide you to hit the mark.

Father, how we praise you that you’ve designed each of us to be used for Your glory. Open us to feel the love in your big hands as you fine-tune us to do our designated jobs. And help us to always realize that apart from You, we can do nothing. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application:
What kind of tool are you? In what areas is God using you to bring His light? Are you going through a period of “tuning up” and are you yielding? Look forward to the result of the adjustment and claim the excellence for the Lord’s glory.

Power Verses:
Romans 9:21, “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?”(NIV)
Ephesians 4:11-13, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.”(NIV)