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Isaiah 45:9- "Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'The potter has no hands'?

 

Some days it would seem the world is against us. For those of us who pray every day and look to the Lord for all things, these days can feel long, tough, and even down right lonely. When bad things happen in our lives, we often will reflect on a couple of things right away. The first thing we ask is, "what did I do?" The second is, "why Lord?" When we search ourselves and realize that grace is more than our mistakes, and we have the love of God in us, we know it is nothing that we have done to invite this strife into our lives. Some may say it is something we did, but we know even from Job, that it was the enemy who petitioned the Lord to test Job. Job was a righteous man, no one was like him according to the Lord. 

So our natural inclination is to find anger at the Lord. Why Lord? Why did this happen? Where were You? 

I was walking down the street the other day and outside on the sidewalk was a woman who was forming a clay pot. She was molding and shaping it on a wheel. The Lord gave me this scripture and I asked her if the clay ever asked her what she was doing? 

We chuckled and talked. What I found out was her husband has passed away just a little over a year ago. She was really hurt and sad. She made some rash decisions, but was making the best of it. I asked her why she worked with clay in particular. She explained to me that if it didn't work out the way she planned it, she could start over before it hardened and was fully form and ready for its intended purpose. I really loved that explanation and it reminded me of what the Lord does with us. 

Sometimes there are things that happen when we are being formed. Things don't go as we plan them and yet the Lord is always there to reshape us. Sometimes we have to start over to get through a rough part, and sometimes we have to be smoothed out in order to do what it is we need to do in life. The Lord sees us as perfect pieces of art and useful creations. We are the clay yet to be fired and sealed. He is still forming us all into that which He intended us to be. 

We must see the perspective different when we go through hard times. We must be encouraged that the potter is making His masterpiece. Struggling never helps the potter any. The more we allow ourselves to be malleable and pliable, the faster we will be made to be the way He desires us to be. Trust the Lord and know the He has the hands of the Master. He is the one who formed Donatello, and Rodin who produced some of the most beautiful pieces in the world. They were known as the greatest in the world, and yet they produced items that never breathed, nor did they love. God knows what He is doing, and so it is with that trust that opens the door to the masterpiece that He is making in you.

 

Father, we praise You for taking Your time molding us into wonderful creations. Help us be patient through the process and wait on your work to be done in us. In Jesus name, amen.