How’s Your Clay?

Have you ever watched a potter at work? I remember walking into a gallery in Dahlonega, Georgia where an artisan was shaping a lump of clay into a vase to be sold in his shop.

As the wheel spun, his hands carefully guided and shaped the moist mass. The clay was the perfect consistency, yielding to the pressure of the artist’s hands.

The wheel of life

What a perfect object lesson for me. The Lord is the ultimate Potter – molding and shaping me into the vessel He wants me to be (click to tweet). As the clay, I’m to yield to the pressure of His hands, knowing He is the master artisan. But all too often, my ‘clay’ is anything but the right consistency.

Sometimes I’m a lot more like steel: unwilling to bend, comfortable where I am. Other times the pressure from the Potter is painful and I want Him to stop the process before He’s finished. At times, I’m pretty sure I know better than the Master. Is your ‘clay’ anything like mine?

He wants clay

I love the way pastor and author, Dr. J. Vernon McGee put it:

“…this is what the Potter wants – clay. He doesn’t want steel. He doesn’t want oil. He doesn’t want rock. He wants clay. He wants something that He can put in His hand to mold and fashion. This is the stuff He is after – clay. God wants to work with human beings.”Thru the Bible – Proverbs through Malachi; p. 385

A useful vessel

What a beautiful truth. The Lord, my Heavenly Potter, wants to fashion me into a vessel He can use. But He doesn’t force me to stay on His wheel. He has given me free will.

He wants me to choose to stay in His hands; hands that apply just the right amount of pressure to smooth out the rough edges (click to tweet).

But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter: and we all are the work of thy hand.Isaiah 64:8

As I live life today, I’ll face both good and bad circumstances. Remembering the lesson of the Potter and His great love for me, my prayer is to stay on His wheel, yielded in His hand. What about you?

Your turn

What kind of ‘clay’ are you? What step will you take today to yield to the Potter’s hand?