There are several times that the Lord used the imagery of the potter and clay, to refer to our being made by him, fashioned by His hands. The most famous in my mind are the verses from Isaiah 64:8 NIV: "Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." This morning though, my thoughts led me to some earlier verses in Isaiah where the Lord uses the image of potter and clay again, this time as an example of His greatness compared to us. The setting into which this theme is introduced a section where Isaiah is prophesying about the worship and empty hearts of the people. He is describing hearts and mindsets that are against Him. HE continues on and describes what God plans to do about that situation, and its good stuff!
Isaiah 29:13-16,18-24 NIV:
[13] "The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught. [14] Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish. ”
[15] Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” [16] You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”?
[18] "In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
[19] Once more the humble will rejoice in the Lord; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
[20] The ruthless will vanish, the mockers will disappear, and all who have an eye for evil will be cut down---
[21] those who with a word make someone out to be guilty, who ensnare the defender in court and with false testimony deprive the innocent of justice."
[22] "Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the descendants of Jacob: “No longer will Jacob be ashamed; no longer will their faces grow pale. [23] When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. [24] Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding; those who complain will accept instruction.”
As I was reading this I was thinking of God's amazing mercy and compassion! I was thinking about how God draws us and delights in us when we turn to Him. Jesus demonstrated some of these very things, opening blind eyes, healing the deaf and other signs and wonders. He also spent much of His time with the humble and the needy!
In the midst of this prophecy of restoration, of moving in astounding signs and wonders He speaks of the potter and clay. I love the picture of malleability that clay brings. When worked properly, clay can be formed into just about any image or object. It is in the heart of the potter that any creation or vessel is formed, and then His hands shape it. God is speaking of His perspective, and gives us a comparison between ourselves and Him. Compared to God we are clay. We have potential within us, character that is in process, the ability to be formed an changed. He desires to mold us and direct us, and our job (If I can call it that) is to be malleable. It is interesting that this does require choice on our parts, for we can choose to be inflexible and set in our ways.
Having worked with clay (my Dad was an art teacher, and loved ceramics) I know that even if a clay dish or pot is allowed to harden, to completely dry out, it can still be turned back into clay. My Dad had the ability to fire our ceramics, and any that didn't did get fired, could be broken down, turned back into clay dust and added to some water and become fully clay again! Even though the pot or cup seemed hard, as long as they had not been fired, they were able to be remade.
Sometimes I feel like that is what God does with me, having made me into a certain form and even having used me in certain ways, there are times that it feels like God is remaking me. I can resist, or feel like I am being punished or didn't satisfy the Lord, when He takes me through these times of transition, but I don't think that His heart towards me is that way at all. Rather I believe (unlike clay) that I maintain some of what I had done or learned previously in my new form (hopefully that makes sense).
Speaking in more ministry terms, at one point I did Youth ministry, at another I did worship, leading worship for our church and being on the worship team, at another point, I was in charge of the men's ministry. I have seen God heal people through our prayers, I have seen God move through me, igniting things in people. I have served in prophetic ministry, and even pastoral leadership. All of these things are now inside me, and yet God is changing my role and responsibilities again. If I wasn't open to change and rigid in my perspective (lets say believing that the only thing God wanted me to do was youth ministry) then I would potentially miss many other opportunities to be used and changed and formed by God. He could still accomplish making me into some new form, but if I remain rigid, He has to break me down or out of my mindset.
I want to remain malleable, to remain responsive to His touch and guidance. I don't want Him to have to break down my rigidity and resistance, to be responsive to Him. It is God's desire to use us, and sometimes that requires that He change our form or how we are used. Resisting Him or arguing with Him is not the right approach, clearly. Paul actually writes about this in His letter to the Romans 9:20-21 NIV: "But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' ” [21] Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?"
I am also reminded that this word from Isaiah was actually directed to the nation and was an encouragement to respond to the Lord, to turn hardened hearts and wayward minds back to Him. It was an encouragement to stop just going through the motions of worship, and instead to give themselves fully to God. God wants us to be witnesses to His Glory, and being rigid and unchanging, and participating in "heartless" worship is not what He desires.
The good news is that His response is one of opening Heaven, and pouring forth signs and wonders, miracles and healings! Lord, it is our desire to see you do such things again! That those who scoff at You and Your names would be astounded by Your goodness, mercy, compassion and Love!
Lord, help me to be malleable clay, responsive to Your touch, and direction! I want to do exactly what You want me to do! Help me to resist the temptation to be rigid an resist Your invitation to change and grow.
Amen!
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