as soft as clay

 

“But now, O Lord,
You are our Father;
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all we are the work of Your hand”

Isaiah 64:8

I look back this past year, and see how far I’ve come. The Lord has shaped me, and molded me, and I am slowly becoming more and more like Him.

I cannot boast.

I cannot boast in myself, but only that the Lord has taught me many, many things that have challenged, changed, stretched, and grown me.

But one thing I thought I’d share, one of the first steps I made on my journey.

Throughout my life, I had let myself stop growing, to become stale clay, clay that is not easy for the 

Potter to mold, to work with, to perfect.

I refused to let the Lord shape me and mold me into a better person, because I was afraid it would hurt too much. 

And you know what? It did hurt. I’m not gonna lie.

But you know another thing?

It’s worth it.

It’s worth it because I love Him so, so much and I just couldn’t bear to to see Him disappointed in His creation, and I want Him to be happy with what He sees.

So my lips whisper over and over this year, “He is the Potter, I am the clay.”

If we are to be clay, we must be willing to let go, of our plans, what we want, and give ourselves up to be made holy in His sight, and to completely surrender to His soft, loving hands. If we are stubborn, if we are unteachable, if we are hard, stale clay, why should we expect God to do great things with us?

But we cannot become soft by own free will.

It is up to the Potter to make us soft & teachable again.

Romans 9:21, “Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?”

And you know, I know it hurts. I know it’s something we don’t want to do. I know we don’t want to give up our dreams, and our pride, and our lives for Him.

I know.

But, this year, I want you to ask yourself this question, really and truly, in all honesty …

“Am I obstinate, or unyielding, or am I as soft as clay?”