The Bible defines a few types of relationships that we have with God, ways that we interact with our complex and multifaceted God. The bible speaks about the bride/bridegroom, sheep/shepherd etc. The one I’ll focus on is the “Clay and Potter” relationship.
“And yet O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand” Isaiah 64:8 NLT
Along with the text above and Jeremiah 18:1-11, we see God portrayed as a potter. What do we think about what we imagine a potter? In Jeremiah 18:2-4, Jeremiah follows God’s instructions and observes a potter at work. I’ve been to see a potter only once in my life and what I remember was a man taking what looked like a lump of mud, wetting it until it was at a workable texture, placing it on a spinning wheel-head operated by a foot pedal and after hours of constant tweaking, intense concentration and specific sequences of perfected methodology, there was placed in front of me something that now looked useful in my kitchen.
The earliest methods of pottery, as with Jeremiah, were the potter shaping the clay with his hands. The potter knew beforehand what He was working towards. He had a goal in mind when He took up that clay and separated it from the huge supply that still lay at his feet. As the process went along the potter either added or subtracted as he saw fit. The ball of clay is pressed, squeezed, pulled gently upwards and outwards. The right amount of pulling, tugging, pressing down and squeezing allows for perfect symmetry, a flat base so that it can stand on its own, thick enough walls so that it won’t break and a hollow space to hold its desired contents. After the basic shape is determined and executed, the potter may go on to make unique markings on the clay, making it totally different from anything he has made before.
Right! Back to God. What does all this speak of in terms of God? This speaks of a journey from nothing to something. Let’s go back to Genesis. In Genesis chapter 2, God explains that He “formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person” NLT. (Note well that all creation was created from a distance except us. God handmade us. God breathed His breath into our lungs. No other creature had that privilege)
God’s relationship with us as “Potter and clay” speaks of a never ending creating and perfecting process. From a physical stand point we were made and fashioned after His likeness, as He the artist saw fit. From the beginning He knew each of us (Jeremiah1:4-5) and had a divine plan for our lives. He handpicked us and set us apart for His works and for the establishment of His kingdom. We were also made in His image, with His characteristics, emotions and a desire for love that can only be fulfilled in Him. Like the lump of clay, we were pressed down to create a creature that could stand on its own, not without His creator, but fulfilling a greater purpose beside Him (2Cor12:9-10). We were made hollow to be His glory carriers in this earth, filled with love, grace, peace, joy, compassion, forgiveness, and of course, glory- We are filled to overflowing, impacting persons around us and portraying true Kingdom living. We were and are continually being made stronger so as to withstand the hardships or what I call training sessions we face on a day to day basis. Many times in our lives when things seem their worst, God is giving us the opportunity to develop and engrave on our hearts the ways of heaven and the mind set of Christ Himself. It’s in our hardest times we learn the most. God therefore, if we allow Him to, tugs, squeezes, pulls, adds on and develops many a characteristic we carry. He knows the potential as well as the limits of the clay (us). He has a vision for the final product and knows exactly how to get it there. He knows the benefit of each painful procedure and the necessary contribution it will have on the final product.
Jeremiah 18:6 says “As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand” NLT.
This is fantastic! God, the ever willing, wise, talented, awesome creator has established a safe place for us to be shaped into our best selves, to reach full potential. On the other hand, how many of us step aside and fully surrender ourselves to God and allow without complaining, the painful but necessary and rewarding process.
So far we have talked about the process of shaping, carving, pushing and pressing, but what about the fire used to set the clay? Many of us pray for and anticipate God’s consuming, refining fire but never realize that for each stage in our lives God needs to remove some things, reshape some things and sometimes even break off and break down a portion to start again. It is not that God made us as faulty products, but we are all born into sin and we have the DNA of the fathers before us. It is in our nature to sin and to operate in works that offend the Father. It’s only when we surrender our lives to Christ do we have the opportunity to have a renewed spirit and a new mandate to work towards the perfection which is found in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:12) (of course all in His perfect strength). It’s only as we pass the varying stages of perfecting, are we tested in the fire and a character set within us for life.
We must, if we have a genuine desire to grow, allow God to carry out the process unhindered. By complaining, saying it’s too hard, too much, too painful, too taxing, we delay the process of completion. We misunderstand sometimes why we go through certain situations and why God allows things to happen to us. God has many methods of fashioning our souls into His own image and likeness and it requires unrelenting unhindered obedience. The flesh or the soul will always be offended by change. The soul doesn’t like or want what God wants for us. The soul we were born with wants to remain in its sinful ways and continue in habitual and ungodly acts. So many times the only person stopping us from growing is ourselves. We ask God for His fire and He faithfully delivers. We ask for learning opportunities and He faithfully makes a way for us. Yet we find ourselves stuck at point A when we could be halfway through the alphabet. The flesh doesn’t want to change, doesn’t want to be challenged, and doesn’t want to the things of God. But our spirits should be burning with desire to follow in God’s footsteps and to bring our soul into alignment.
Be challenged to live a life in this season with purpose fulfilled and divine reason.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, Plans to give you a hope and a future…” Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
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