The Potter & the Clay (originally published April '08)

…We are the clay, and You our potter; and we are all the work of Your hand. ~ Isaiah 64:8

Have you ever watched a potter work? He takes a dense mass of clay and first pounds and shapes it into a ball. He then places it firmly in the center of the potter’s wheel and begins the slow process of shaping. Initially, the clay is quite rigid and unyielding, so he continuously uses water to keep it workable.

The potter’s job requires much patience. As the wheel spins, he continuously changes the position of his hands and fingers as he shapes the clay into what he wants it to be. More pressure here, a more delicate touch there, literally even squeezing in some places. He might even change the speed at which the wheel is turning.

Once the clay takes on its initial shape, he begins using tools that trim away excess and further refine it into the desired form. By now, the piece looks finished, but must be placed in the kiln and subjected to intense heat before it is fully strengthened and usable to its fullest potential.

I’ve been thinking about our message yesterday which brought this question…

“How are you responding to God’s attempts to mold and shape your life?"

More specifically…

Have you first offered yourself to Him for use?

Are you allowing Him to pound, press, apply pressure and even squeeze where needed?

Are you soaking in the water of his Word in order that you might remain workable?

Have you given Him the ability to trim away those excess things in your life keeping you from a closer walk with Him?

Are you willing to be subjected to intense heat so that in the end you’ll be fully strengthened and more perfected?

Or…

Are you resisting being used at all?

Are you fighting his attempts to pound, press, apply pressure and even squeeze where needed?

Have you neglected soaking in the water from God’s Word and in doing so, become resistant, rigid and unyielding to change?

Are you trying to avoid (or asking God to take away) painful situations, rather than endure the work of His refining tools?

Do you give up in the midst of intense heat, before ever realizing the full strength you could gain in Him through the process?

In the end, I don't want to be a vessel whose shape bears no resemblance to the Potter's design; one that represents defiance and resistance to His workings. Instead, I want my final shape to be that which He lovingly intended and purposefully created because I surrendered to His hands. More than anything...I want to be a creation He can look upon with great joy.

Lord, I want to be used by you. Help me to allow you full access to every part of me. Do what is needed to shape me into who you want me to be. Help me stay saturated in your Word so that my heart is tender and workable. Take away those things that keep me from a closer walk with you. When I find myself in the midst of extreme discomfort, Lord remind me those trials are from you, specifically designed for me, that I may become fully strengthened and perfected in you. May it be so Lord Jesus…

Encouragement for your Friday

Hello sweet friends! How I have missed you! There is such sweet encouragement that comes to the soul from knowing others are praying on your behalf. Thank you so very much for lifting my family (and for reminding me that you are).

There has not been much change since the last update. Dad is trying to adjust to life at home. He was a very active man before his accident, so he is bored and frustrated by all the things he isn’t able to do. Two different therapists come each week to help maintain his body strength while he waits for his bones to heal. We’re doing our best to keep his spirits up, and Mom is doing well looking after him. I won’t give so many updates from here on out, but please do keep him (and my Mom) in your prayers as God brings them to mind.

My niece, Brooke sees the orthopedic doctor again next week to determine whether or not she will need surgery to repair her collar bone. I saw her a few days ago. The difference in her shoulders is quite evident, yet this is an improvement over how it appeared initially. I would appreciate your continued prayers for her, as well.

Not surprisingly, my devotional messages (from Streams in the Desert) over the last couple of weeks have been so incredibly fitting to our situation and delivered such peace to my soul. I’d love to share them all. I’ve opted to share one that's a bit lighter and based on a passage you’ve perhaps heard hundreds of times. If you’re in the midst of your own storm, I pray it falls fresh on your soul this day.


We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28)

What a tremendous claim Paul makes in this verse! He does not say, “We know that in some things,” “most things,” or even “joyful things” but “ALL things.” This promise spans from the very smallest detail of life to the most important, and from the most humbling of daily tasks to God’s greatest works of grace performed during a crisis.

Paul states this in the present tense: “God works.” He does not say, “worked” or “will work.” It is a continuing operation.

We also know from Scripture that God’s “justice [is] like the great deep” (Ps. 36:6); at this very moment the angels in heaven, as they watch with folded wings the development of God’s greatest plan, are undoubtedly proclaiming, “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made” (Psalm 145:17).

Then when God orchestrates “all things…for the good,” it is a beautiful blending. He requires many different colors, which individually may be quite drab, to weave into the harmonious pattern.

Separate tones, notes, and even discords are required to compose melodious music anthems; a piece of machinery requires many separate wheels, parts, and connections. One part from a machine may be useless, or one note from an anthem may never be considered beautiful, but taken together, combined and completed, they lead to perfect balance and harmony.

We can learn a lesson of faith from this: “You do not realize what I am doing, but later you will understand.” (John 13:7) J.R. Macduff

In a thousand trials, it is not just give hundred of them that work “for the good” of the believer, but nine hundred and ninety-nine, plus one. George Mueller

Great Things

Here is a portion of a beautiful passage I read this morning in Streams in the Desert...

Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights. ~ Isaiah 7:11

Make your petition deep, O heart of mine,
Your God can do much more
Than you can ask;
Launch out on the Divine,
Draw from His love-filled store.
Trust Him with everything;
Begin today,
And find the joy that comes
When Jesus has His way!

We must continue to “pray and wait for the Lord.” (Isaiah 8:17), until we hear the sound of His mighty rain. There is no reason why we should not ask for great things. Without a doubt, we will receive them if we ask in faith, having the courage to wait with patient perseverance for Him and meanwhile doing those things that are within our power to do.

It is not within our power to create the wind or to change its direction, but we can raise our sails to catch it when it comes. We do not create electricity, yet we can tap into it with a wire that will conduct it, allowing it to work. We do not control God’s spirit, but we can place ourselves before the Lord out of obedience to what He has called us to do, and we will come under the influence and power of His mighty breath.

Dr. Goulburn, Dean of Norwich once said “…A simple prayer from our mouths will be powerful enough to call down from heaven God’s gracious dew or the melting fire of His Spirit, just as the words from Elijah’s mouth called down literal rain and fire. All that is required is to speak the words with the same complete assurance of faith with which he spoke.”

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Lord, give us the courage to ask for great things. Things far greater than that which we can ask or imagine. Things you long to give to us. May our faith in your power be one of complete and confident assurance, like that of Elijah and so many other heroes of our faith. May patient perseverance reside within us as we await the workings of Your Will. In the meantime, may we continue on, humbly doing the work which You presently have set before us. May we not become so focused on the great things that we miss the blessings that will come in moments along the way. Open our eyes and hearts to each and every one. We love and fully trust in Your plan for our lives. In the precious name of Jesus, Amen.