The first time I saw someone making pottery on a potter’s wheel, I remember thinking, “I could do that.” It looked so easy, so effortless. Subtle movements by the potter result in significant changes in the pot. A firm, yet gentle, touch gives shape to formless clay. Each movement is intentional, precisely done with the end result in mind. Each piece of pottery is unique, with a specific design and a distinct beauty.
We are the clay
God uses the imagery of a potter creating something from clay to show his ability to mold and shape both nations and individuals. In the book of Jeremiah (18:3-4), we read that God asked Jeremiah to go to the potter’s house and watch him make something out of the clay. So, Jeremiah went, and he watched the potter work the clay on his potter’s wheel. And as the potter was working the clay, he noticed that the clay had something about it that made him decide to create one kind of pot instead of another. He made the right kind of pot out of the clay based upon its unique characteristics.
And so it is with us. The Bible tells us that God is the potter, and we are the clay. (Isaiah 64:8) He shapes us as He deems best, knowing our flaws and our abilities, our pain and our strengths, our histories and our futures. He sees them as He shapes and molds us into His beautiful creation, His masterpiece, in the way that is best for us – if we surrender to be molded and shaped by the Potter.
when I surrender
I’ve spent many years telling God exactly how to shape my life, struggling against the Potter’s hand. In my mind, it’s easy. It’s simple. It should be effortless. It should be painless. But, I’m reminded again and again that I’m not the Potter. I’m the clay on the wheel, being in the process of being shaped and molded. Things take shape in my life when I struggle less. They take shape when I surrender to God’s hand, to his design for my life. And sometimes the painful things in our lives are a reworking of the clay that is necessary for the Potter’s intended finished product.
It can be hard to trust God in that process, when we’re being shaped and molded. We don’t know the end result, just like the clay doesn’t know what kind of pot it will ultimately be. But, the clay can’t say to the potter, “What are you making?” It is up to the potter to decide the best use of the clay. And no one piece of pottery is like another. (So, stop comparing yourself, your design, your purpose with someone else.) They are all different vessels with different purposes, designed with intention and care. Each a masterpiece to be used for His intended purpose.
© 2018 Sara R Conley