“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our Potter; we are all the work of Your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)
The Bible frequently uses the imagery of God as a potter, and we as the clay to describe His relationship with us. And our text explains what it means to be clay in the potter’s hand.
We must be willing to surrender to God’s will for our lives and only go where He calls us to go. And that can be a challenging act to complete!
The God of Heaven makes an interesting statement through the prophet Isaiah in (Isaiah 29:16… “You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, ‘He did not make me;’ or the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’”?
The clay doesn’t tell the potter what to make; the potter decides what to make of the clay.
When we became children of God, in our public confession that we believe that Jesus is the Son of God we were affirming that we will no longer be sitting on the throne of our own heart. Upon coming up out of the water, having been baptized for the “remission of our sins” … we are “new creatures in Christ” and will now strive and “press on” to be pliable and usable clay in the Potter’s hands.
If we are anything like the clay that was resistant to the hands of the potter in the house where the Lord had told Jeremiah to go (Jeremiah 18:1-6), we are making a grievous mistake. We are asking for the Lord’s displeasure and even punishment and I doubt any of us would want that to occur!
It is for each of us to come to the realization that we are actually not the best judge of what is best for us … or even for those we love! We are incapable of guiding our own life adequately!
But the One who made us “in His own image” is! He knows all, sees all, hears all … and absolutely nothing takes Him by surprise.
God the Potter is sovereign over the clay and can be trusted for He is good and does good. (Psalm 119:68) His hands are where the ordinary becomes extraordinary!
Life can feel like a lump of clay. How often do we find ourselves unable to see beyond our everyday failures to our God-given potential? We feel helpless and at times hopeless, spinning around on this wheel called life.
There is hope though because there is a Potter. He is the One that shapes, molds, and brings meaning and purpose to life. He waits for us to place ourselves in His hands.
Any violin can be used to make music, but the extravagant price of a Stradivarius is based upon its maker. Any painting is painted on a canvas, but when it bears the name of Da Vinci, Van Gough, or Rembrandt, few can afford it!
The same has been said of you. Each of us is truly a masterpiece, not because we are better and more valued than others, but because of the One Who made us.
Because He is righteous and holy, He always does what is right and good; His faithfulness can be trusted. There is no dishonesty, meanness, or wrong within Him. His love is why we have hope in the midst of our failure. His love is why it is safe for us, the clay, to surrender to God the Potter’s hands of grace and mercy even when we may not understand His process.
Read and study and apply and obey His Words every day of your life!
We must not hold onto our own preferences.
I choose to place my life in the always trustworthy hands … into the hands of He who is the “I AM WHO I AM!”
Take me and mold me, use me. Teach me, dear Lord, to live all of my life through Your eyes!
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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