"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?" says the Lord. "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!" Jeremiah 18:6
One of our favorite spots to visit when we see our kids in New Hampshire is a pottery factory. We have stood and watched as the craftsman picks up a hunk of clay, placing in on the wheel, and then forming with his bare hands a beautiful piece of pottery.
Sometimes it isn't obvious what he is making. We think it is one thing, and it turns out to be something completely different. Quite the same with us. God sees us clay and He wants to mold and shape us into His image.
I love what Dr. Henry Blackaby says about clay in his daily devotional, EXPERIENCING GOD -- THE DEVOTIONAL (Broadman):
God knows how to bring salvation to your family, your friends, your community, and your world. Accordingly, He looks for those who will allow HIM to shape them into instruments He requires to do His divine work. Clay has no plans of its own, no aspirations for service, nor reluctance to perform its given task. It is just clay. Moldable, pliable, totally submissive to the will of its master.
At times we are excited to announce to God: "I've discovered my strengths and gifts, and now I know how I can best serve You!" At other times we inform Him, "I am aware of what my weaknesses are, so I know which task I'm not capable of doing for You."
Yet this is not characteristic of clay. God is not limited to working with our strengths (2 Cor. 12:9-10). He can mold us into whatever kind of instrument HE requires. When God's assignment demands humility, He finds a servant willing to be humbled. When His work requires zeal, He looks for someone He can fill with His Spirit. God uses holy vessels, so He finds those who will allow Him to remove their impurities.
It is not a noble task being, clay. There is not glamour to it, nothing boast-worthy, except that it is exactly what almighty God is looking for. Compliant, moldable, yielded clay.
If your tendency is to TELL the Father what YOU can and cannot do for HIM, submit to HIS agenda, and allow HIM to shape YOU into the person HE wants YOU to be. Like clay!
So brothers, are we willing today to be "clay in the Potter's hand" -- compliant, moldable, yielded clay? -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK
DIGGING DEEPER: Proverbs 11; Genesis 27-28; Matthew 8:18-34
DIG THIS QUOTE: To the extent that you’re clinging to any vestiges of self-righteousness or putting confidence in your own spiritual attainments, to that degree you are not living by the grace of God in your life. – Jerry Bridges
DETERMINED DIGGING: Level 1 Deuteronomy 31:8; Level 2 -- Psalm 1
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