This (Isaiah 64:4-9) is part of a series of studies my accountability group is reading through for the next few weeks. It’s a study from YouVersion called “Living a Divinely Inspired Life.”
In today’s reading I see this verse:
Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. – Isaiah 64:8 (NIV84)
This idea of God as the potter and myself is the clay is one of my favorite illustrations of our relationship with God. There are many reasons but let’s just look at three of them briefly.
First, we can find great joy in the realization that God is actively shaping us. No skillful potter expects to throw clay on the potter’s wheel and just say that whatever comes out is a work of art (granted, in the 21st century this might pass as some sort of art). A great potter has his hand on the clay and is shaping it with great intention. God the Potter, according to Isaiah 64:8, is actively shaping us into a beautiful work of art with His artistic mindset.
Second, we (the clay) can trust the Potter (God) that is shaping us. The unique thing about us is that we have a willing and we have a voice. When a potter works with clay the clay has no voice or will. But, this illustration reminds me that we are to become what God has created us to be rather than resist what He is making us become. All the times we try to tell God what to do with our life is simple lumps in the clay that the Potter needs to work out. And that leads us to the third idea for today.
Being shaped does not always feel good but it is what makes us into what He wants us to be. When our will collides with His will God will artistically work to try and remove or breakdown those lumps that are preventing us from becoming what He is creating. That hurts. It hurts our pride. It may hurt our dreams. It may even hurt our career or family. But, God what’s us to accomplish something extraordinary for His Kingdom and we can trust that through the discomfort of being shaped by God we will become something amazing for His glory.
