The Bible many times likens the workings of God in our lives to a potter and the clay. God has something in mind for each one of us and it seems the hardest thing for us to do is to simply yield all we have and all we are into his faithful and loving hand. If He is ever going to be able to make anything out of us we must allow Him to have his way with us. Am I really the clay? Am I really yielded to God spirit, soul, and body? Or am I still convinced that I am in charge and that if my life is ever going to be worth anything it is up to me to make it happen? Is my heart really soft and pliable, yielding to the soft touch of the Master's hand? Or is my heart so hard that it cannot be dealt with except by the impact of a hammer that shatters to pieces? Can I rest in the fact that God is slowly working on me to make me into what He wants me to be? Or am I determined to be what I have in mind for myself?
I am the clay - and clay has impurities in it.
Rocks and air bubbles, or dried clumps cause the clay to be marred in the potter's hand. The clay must be sifted thoroughly before it can be used and even then it can have impurities that will mar the vessel while it is on the wheel. Usually, it is only a small speck, but it can cause the whole thing to be marred, and requires the wheel to stop for a while and a gapping wound to be opened in the vessel to remove it. These impurities will never be found in the clay unless it is yielded to the potter's hand. When found, they must be purged, which stops the work of the potter for a time and sometimes causes him to have to start all over.
Have you ever felt that you were going nowhere? You thought everything was done when you gave your heart to God, but now the wheel has stopped and it seems like nothing is happening in your life and in your spiritual growth? It could be that God is trying to purge you of some impurity or flaw. It could be some activity or some habit you have, but it could also simply be a certain way of thinking or an attitude of heart. It could be some error in your knowledge and understanding of God. Countless things can bring God's wheel to a halt in your life, but it is usually something that seems small and insignificant. It is something that would have stayed hidden had it not been for God using his hands and his tools to work and cut away on your life. If you know what it is that has the wheel stopped why not simply do what God is pressing upon you to do and get rid of the impurity or the fault in your life? Unlearn that false way. Change that faulty way of thinking. Get rid of that habit, that sharp tongue, that tolerance of unholy and profane things in your life. Put an end to that lightness and indifference toward holy things, or whatever it might be.
The potter cannot work with clay that is lacking in moisture.
If the clay is too dry it becomes hard and unworkable. The Word of God is referred to, or likened to water. If we do not contain enough of the Word of God we will not be workable by the Potter. Those who neglect reading and studying the Word of God become hard in their hearts and minds and unyielding to the working of God in their life. As water softens the hard ground, so the Word of God softens the hard heart and stubborn mind and will. Without exception, those who are yielded to God on the potter's wheel are those who are filled with the Word of God.
I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. Psa. 130:5
Read, study, and meditate on the Word of God faithfully and it will soften your heart and life just like water softens the hard ground. It will make you moldable and usable by God - who is our Potter.
The potter cannot make a vessel out of clay that is not yielded.
It is a slow, tedious process even if the clay is totally yielded and it takes much patience on the part of the Potter. But it is impossible if the clay is resisting the Potter's hand. It is not natural, logical, or sensible for the clay to resist. We are talking about dirt resisting the hand of an intelligent Being who is trying to make something out of it.
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? Rom. 9:20-21
Earthly clay does not resist our hand, but men, who are made of clay DO resist the hand of their Creator.
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? Isa. 45:9
The very nature of the potter's work makes it necessary for him to remove some of the perfectly good clay in order to form the vessel he is making.
Likewise, God will sometimes remove things from us that have no impurities or flaws in them. As far as we can see they are things we need and which add to our usefulness, but God sees what we do not see and in his plan for us that part of our lump of clay would be a hindrance and not a blessing. Its continued presence would mar the beauty and usefulness of the vessel He has in mind, so He removes it - sometimes gently and slowly, and sometimes suddenly and abruptly. It is hard to give up a part of us that is good and dear to us, but we must realize that the Potter is at work and we must patiently wait to see what He is doing with us.
God formed a vessel of clay and made it in his own image and likeness.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Gen. 2:7
But the vessel was marred in the hands of the Potter. That means it was ruined or corrupted. Impurities were found - sin had entered in. Dryness made the clay too hard to work with anymore. Ignorance and lack of knowledge of the Word of God in them that are lost make them hard and stubborn. We have all been there - "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." But then the Potter went to work on us. He has to do what every potter must do - He must either throw the clay away and use something else, or he must break it to pieces, then grind it to powder, and make it over again.
The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. Jer. 18:1-6
And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found in the bursting of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water withal out of the pit. Isa. 30:14
This is what happens when a person is born again into God's family. God does not throw the clay away, but breaks it and makes it over again. He does not just cover up the flaws and impurities - He removes them. This is a process that continues as long as we are on the Potter's wheel, throughout our life as a Christian - it is called sanctification.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Cor. 5:17
Can you honestly say today that "I am the clay"?
Are you gladly allowing God to take away the parts of you that are not conformed to the image He is making of you, even if they seem good and needful to you? Do you thank Him for revealing the impurities in your heart and mind? Do you rest in the fact that He is making you into a vessel for his own particular use and trust Him completely without murmuring and doubting? If you are then you can honestly say, "I am the clay." If you are resisting God and his working in your life then woe unto you "that striveth with his Maker!" God cannot make anything out of you unless you trust Him, yielding all you have, all you are, and all you ever will be into his faithful and loving hands.
Submit yourselves therefore to God ... James 4:7
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 1 Pet. 5:6-7
Mike Miller
Sunday, February 6, 2011
