Very often we do not understand how the stressful, sometimes painful episodes in our lives are working to make us better Christian. We often react with bitterness and resentment towards God for the occasional trials that interrupt our comfortable and well planned lives. We fail to see God's hand in our circumstances and often feel that He has deserted or abandoned us despite His promises to watch over our paths [Psalm 1:6].
In Jeremiah 18, the prophet Jeremiah instructs us that these trials are for a far more greater purpose than God's whim or amusement.
God is continually making us useful. This process will not be without reshaping and work. We have the assurance that daily trials are ordained by God for our benefit to form us into "His workmanship" (Ephesians 2:10).
Jeremiah 18:6
"Can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the Lord. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand."