The Potter and the Clay

I have five kids, and I love them very much, but I can’t wait for them to be done with Play-Doh! It’s a great toy that can be shaped and re-shaped and keeps the kids off electronics, but it can become such a mess when they don’t take care of it. 

I would imagine you’ve noticed that as long as Play-Doh is kept in the can, it is flexible and moldable. You can make it into shapes, you can mix it with other colors, and you can even pull it apart and put it back together again. It’s generally soft and squishy and very moldable.

However, if you leave Play-Doh out, like my kids often do, it becomes hard and brittle. Instead of breaking down to be remolded into something else, it just breaks—then crumbles into tiny pieces all over the table, the chair, and the carpet! 

Today’s verses use the analogy of the potter and the clay to illustrate the relationship between God and us. The idea is that God is making you into something. He uses circumstances, people, His Word, and the Holy Spirit, among other things, to shape us. If we are flexible, the molding process can happen very quickly and easily. However, if we are rigid, stubborn, and prideful, the Potter must break us down and reshape us.  

We often use the phrase when preparing mission teams, “God loves to mold you, but He’ll chisel if He must.” Your mission trip will require you to be flexible. You will have a set of plans, a schedule, and expectations, and those will likely be challenged before you even set foot off the plane. You might not have access to something you thought you would. Perhaps the number of people participating in a ministry activity will be significantly more or less than you anticipated. Or you might even be sick and unable to participate as you planned. 

You have a choice to make. Will you shine as you adapt and are molded by God, or will you whine because things haven’t gone your way? You don’t have to be Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, or any other spiritual giant to shine not whine. You only need to have a Kingdom perspective, renew your mind, humble yourself, seek God’s glory above your own pleasure . . . sound familiar? 

If you’ve been journaling your thoughts and prayers along the way, go back and review what you wrote. In doing so, you will be softening your heart and renewing your mind so it is flexible and ready to be molded by God in whatever comes your way. You’ll be free to put others first, love your neighbor as yourself, and preach the gospel both in word and deed. 

Pray and Journal—Close this time by submitting yourself to God in prayer. Ask Him to mold you and shape you. Pray that God would give you grace when you’re being molded through difficult times and wisdom to see how He is working.