“Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
(Isaiah 64:8, NIV)
(Isaiah 64:8, NIV)
As I watched the sculptor mold the clay, I became aware that the final product eluded me. I couldn’t tell what the sculptor was doing. He seemed to know what to do, how to move his hands over the clay to find the right position to make the desired effect upon the clay. While I had no I idea where he was in the process, the sculptor knew exactly how to shape the clay; where to push, where to add more clay; when to wet the clay. I could only watch in fascination as the clay was molded, transformed into the beautiful likeness of a torso and head. With his instruments, he put life into the bust of a man, giving the man character and depth. In the end, I saw a beautiful museum-worthy caricature of a man. Until the sculptor was finished, I could never have determined the steps it would take to mold that beautiful creation.
The scripture for today describes God as a sculptor who molds the clay of your life. You are the clay. God is “the potter”. God molds parts of your life to make a better you. He knows what the final you will look like. He is constantly molding, adapting, shaping things in your life. He desires a beautiful, worthy person. He is willing to put in all the work required to shape you into a precious gift to humanity. Though some may not see who or what you will do with your life, God has an image of who you could be. God has a vision for your life. God continually adapts and shapes your life so that you will be perfect in His eyes. Do you notice when God is shaping your life?
Recently, I met a woman who went through a terrible breakup with the love of her life. She was engaged to the man she truly loved. For months, as they planned their wedding, she dreamed of a future with children and a loving home. As the day for marriage drew near, she grew more and more excited. Then, her world was devastated one day when she came home early to surprise her love. She took the day off work to be with him. It was a lovely surprise gift that was never to be given. When she arrived at their apartment, she found him in bed with her best friend. Later, she found out that the two had been seeing each other for months. Tracy’s world was devastated. In her sorrow, she packed up her car and left the state, moving to the Midwest. She moved into an apartment a thousand miles away from her old life and began her new life.
If you look at Tracy’s story, you might wonder how God could ever have wanted her to experience such a terrible period in her life. If you thought that, you don’t have the imagination to see how God was shaping Tracy’s life. You see, when she moved a thousand miles away, she happened to move into the town where God had been healing a young widower named Thomas. Thomas’ wife had died two years previous from Leukemia. His daughter was still shy with people and cried herself to sleep many a night. Tracy ended up falling in love with Thomas and his daughter. In less than a year, Thomas and Tracy were married. Today, they are very active in their church and a huge part of their community. But Tracy would have never found the true love of her life if she had gone through with her plans back East.
God shapes and molds your life in ways you are never completely aware. And, just like I could not see the final sculpture in the early stages of the sculpting process of the clay, you may not quite see what God is doing in your life. You may not comprehend how God might use an event or a situation to change the direction of your life. God might use an obstacle to give you a stronger backbone. He might use the loss of a job to move you on to something better. God might get you sick in order to keep you away from an addiction. God might use the hurt in someone else’s life as a warning to you. In thousands of little ways, God, as the potter, is sculpting your life. God is whittling away at undesirable traits and adding things here and there to reshape the final YOU.
Isaiah, in our scripture for today, was entirely convinced that God molds people’s lives. Like a potter works the clay to form a piece of art, God works things in your life to make a better YOU. You may not see it now, but when you meet God face to face, you will understand a whole lot more about what He had sculpted and molded into your life. Until that day, just realize that you are still clay in His hand. He is still working on perfecting His image for your life.
The scripture for today describes God as a sculptor who molds the clay of your life. You are the clay. God is “the potter”. God molds parts of your life to make a better you. He knows what the final you will look like. He is constantly molding, adapting, shaping things in your life. He desires a beautiful, worthy person. He is willing to put in all the work required to shape you into a precious gift to humanity. Though some may not see who or what you will do with your life, God has an image of who you could be. God has a vision for your life. God continually adapts and shapes your life so that you will be perfect in His eyes. Do you notice when God is shaping your life?
Recently, I met a woman who went through a terrible breakup with the love of her life. She was engaged to the man she truly loved. For months, as they planned their wedding, she dreamed of a future with children and a loving home. As the day for marriage drew near, she grew more and more excited. Then, her world was devastated one day when she came home early to surprise her love. She took the day off work to be with him. It was a lovely surprise gift that was never to be given. When she arrived at their apartment, she found him in bed with her best friend. Later, she found out that the two had been seeing each other for months. Tracy’s world was devastated. In her sorrow, she packed up her car and left the state, moving to the Midwest. She moved into an apartment a thousand miles away from her old life and began her new life.
If you look at Tracy’s story, you might wonder how God could ever have wanted her to experience such a terrible period in her life. If you thought that, you don’t have the imagination to see how God was shaping Tracy’s life. You see, when she moved a thousand miles away, she happened to move into the town where God had been healing a young widower named Thomas. Thomas’ wife had died two years previous from Leukemia. His daughter was still shy with people and cried herself to sleep many a night. Tracy ended up falling in love with Thomas and his daughter. In less than a year, Thomas and Tracy were married. Today, they are very active in their church and a huge part of their community. But Tracy would have never found the true love of her life if she had gone through with her plans back East.
God shapes and molds your life in ways you are never completely aware. And, just like I could not see the final sculpture in the early stages of the sculpting process of the clay, you may not quite see what God is doing in your life. You may not comprehend how God might use an event or a situation to change the direction of your life. God might use an obstacle to give you a stronger backbone. He might use the loss of a job to move you on to something better. God might get you sick in order to keep you away from an addiction. God might use the hurt in someone else’s life as a warning to you. In thousands of little ways, God, as the potter, is sculpting your life. God is whittling away at undesirable traits and adding things here and there to reshape the final YOU.
Isaiah, in our scripture for today, was entirely convinced that God molds people’s lives. Like a potter works the clay to form a piece of art, God works things in your life to make a better YOU. You may not see it now, but when you meet God face to face, you will understand a whole lot more about what He had sculpted and molded into your life. Until that day, just realize that you are still clay in His hand. He is still working on perfecting His image for your life.