His Will, His Way, We Are the Clay

As a mom to 3 little boys, I constantly look for new and creative ways to keep them entertained. Recently, my children have shown a huge interest in playdough, or as they like to call it, “clay,” so I decided to learn how to make “homemade clay” for them—the kind that is made from edible ingredients just in case they decide to have a little snack during playtime, if you know what I mean. Now, multiple times a week, they will sit at a table with cookie cutters and play with their “clay.”

This creative free-play often keeps them occupied for a long time, because once they make something, they get bored with it, and decide to gather all the clay in a big pile and start over again. They repeat this process over and over. Because the clay is moldable, it can be formed into something new time and time again.

All throughout Scripture, we see humanity referred to as “clay” in the potter’s (God’s) hands. These passages remind us to become like clay and to be moldable into what God desires to make us. Jeremiah 18:1-4 says:

The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.

Ouch. I picture myself as the clay in the potter’s hands when I read this passage. Then I noticed that the Potter remolded the jar because it didn’t “turn out as he had hoped.” The Lord was using this example to show Jeremiah that He could uproot, tear down, or build up the nation of Israel—all in response to whether they turned from their evil ways and sought the Lord.

It’s a beautiful thing to be molded and formed by the Lord. But molding our lives as clay can also mean being stretched and uncomfortable, just as it was for the nation of Israel. To become more like Christ, we must daily choose to lay down our flesh, sin nature, and anything that separates us from God. It’s easy to pray “God mold me like clay” or “I give my life to You as the Potter,” but living out those words is hard. It requires daily surrender to the refining and sanctifying process as the clay. Sometimes, we can go through multiple revisions of being remolded as clay. This molding process is often uncomfortable because we are not in control of it. We must surrender our lives to God as the Potter to form and make us into what He desires—at the time of His choosing.

And while this may sound discouraging, take heart! This is good news! We serve a God who creates good and beautiful things. We can rest in hope, knowing that God will form us into His masterpiece if we surrender to Him as the potter. Today, picture yourself as the clay in the Potter’s hands. Will you surrender to Him to be molded and formed into what He desires to make you?

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Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.