The Potter

“Yet You O Lord are our Father.  We are the clay and You are our Potter, we are all the work of Your hands.”  

Isaiah 64 v 8

I was a transfixed ten year old girl, watching a Potter at work.  A lump of clay, grey-brown and formless, growing, expanding, springing up here, being stretched out there.  Rounded to perfection.  A rim added with a pinch of fingers. Holes cut out here.  A spout added there.   A long clay sausage curved into an elegant loopy handle – a teapot!  So perfect, appearing like magic at the touch of the potter’s skillful hands.

This week, at our lady’s group, a friend asked for prayer.  She is going through a storm.  Life is hard.  Times are tough.  As we prayed for her, suddenly I found myself picturing a Potter and some clay.

And then I realised something.   A Potter knows exactly how much pressure to apply to the clay in order to create a desired shape.

Sometimes God allows situations to press against us.  Sometimes His hand seems firm upon our hearts.  Sometimes it seems that the pressure is too much and we’re going to crack.  But know this:  When God’s touch seems firm and heavy upon us, when the pressures of life crowd in, that’s when He’s shaping us the most.  The more pressure He applies, the more we are being moulded and transformed into His likeness and into all that He plans for us to be.  He knows what He is making.  He sees the end result.  He has something great in mind.  It may not be finished yet.  What He is making may remain a bit of a mystery to us.  But one thing’s for sure – He is the Potter, and He is in complete control. He has not taken His hand off us.  He’s a Master Craftsman.   If you’re feeling the pressure today, if you’re feeling like your life is spinning out of control, take heart and trust Him!  You’re probably being shaped into something beautiful.