The Master Craftsman

by Chadwick Brewer

“And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God’” (Zechariah 13:9).

Photo by Manoj Kulkarni on Unsplash

A master craftsman has a unique love for his workmanship. However, creating something beautiful also requires intense effort and care. The silversmith fires, molds, pounds, and polishes. The potter cuts, kneads, pinches, and forms. The woodworker saws, files, hammers, and sands. The sculptor carves, chisels, grinds, and hammers.

From the perspective of the creation, this molding, firing, cutting, and grinding might seem unnecessarily harsh. Yet the master craftsman knows precisely how much work is needed to transform raw material into its finest form.

Sometimes, the refining, testing, hammering, and grinding in our lives feel overwhelming. We look at Joseph in prison in Egypt and think it was too harsh. We see Moses spending 40 years in the wilderness and believe it was far too long. We see Daniel in the lions’ den and think it was unbearably frightening. Yet, in each case, the Master Craftsman was shaping and refining these men into their best possible selves.

Consider the trials and hardships in your life as masterstrokes from the Master Craftsman, molding you into the best disciple you can be.