"But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand." (Isaiah 64:8)
Dearest Mothers,
Have you ever considered the meaning of the above verse from Isaiah? How profound and amazing to think of our God shaping and molding us as a potter does a piece of clay!
How about these verses:
"The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel."(Jeremiah 18:1-6)
"Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?" (Romans 9:20-24)
Since God is the Potter and we are the clay what attitude should we have before Him concerning all aspects of life?
The words that come my mind are: submission, yield, obedience, reverence and fear.
Submission to our loving Father- He knows what is best for us and knows what things we need to go through to form us into that perfect vessel which He has planned from the foundation of the world, a vessel He can use here on earth and for all eternity. Who are we to resist His plan? As Elizabeth Elliot has said, "Nestle, don't wrestler." Trust Him dear mothers for your children- Yes, you have the weight of responsibility to raise and train them, but it's for Him, you are simply the vessel He has chosen to use. What a remarkable privilege He has given you! But keep in mind, they are clay in the Potters hand you cannot always have the say of what happens, things happen, heart breaking things- but remember- these little ones are intrusted to you to protect, love and care for but they do not belong to you, they belong to God who is forming them into the vessel He desires them to be.
Yield yourself and your children to God's Keeping- Our Lord Jesus is a loving and merciful God, He will not require us to go through things that are too difficult for us. He prepares us for the trials we must go through and lovingly helps us along the way. Trust Him, He is faithful and kind, remembering this helps us to yield ourselves to Him and to His will. If our heart is right before Him our desire will be for our Lord Jesus to be glorified in and through all things. After all, we are all created for Him!
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11)
Obedience To His Word- Consider your children and your desire for them to obey you. Why do you want them to obey you? Isn't it because you love them and know what is best for them? Disobedience will cause them to be in danger in one way or another. It is the same with us before our loving God ( But the comparison is only to help get a grasp of the concept since His love is perfect and we can never understand that kind of depth of love and pure judgement.)
He is the potter -and as the potter dips his hands into water to form the clay- His discipline is His hand dipped in love to form us. Obey Him and be blessed.
"But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you." (Jeremiah 7:23)
"Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." (Isaiah 66:1-3)
Reverence and Fear your great Creator and Designer: God sees and knows everything you do. He knows the thoughts you think and the number of hairs on your head. He can speak a word and drop you dead. Shouldn't you fear and reverence Him? Reverence Him for He is your creator and designer you owe everything to Him- your life- your very breath- all things:
"Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? (Isaiah 29:15-17)
To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:25-31)
Here is a little video with a song about our great Potter:
Clay In Potter's Hand Song :
Did the clay ever say to the potter, "Tell me why have
you made me this way?"For my sides are all thinning,
I'm tired of spinning around and around every day."
Did the clay ever say to the potter, "I'm afraid that I just don't agree,
For so often I feel that life on this wheel Is not what it's cracked up to be."
Chorus:
It seems rather strange to imagine that my life is also like clay,
Until I remember that God formed my members and made me
In His special way.
So instead of a life of complaining about things that I don't Understand.
I will simply be grateful that my God is faithful,
To finish the work He began.
Did the clay ever say to the potter, "Oh your plans
Are much different than mine, And I do beg your pardon but if
I'm a star than I'd like a much different design"
Did the clay ever say to the potter, "Oh this oven is getting quite hot,
If the pot your designing requires refining I'd really would much rather not."
... Chorus...
