I notice that we often quote Isaiah 64:8, which says, Father, you are the potter, and I am the clay, and I am the work of your hand. However, we never realize the level of submission required to let ourselves be thrown on the Potter’s wheel. Not that I am a fan of pottery, nor do I know much about it, but I notice that potters usually like to make cups, mugs, bowls, vases, and flowerpots. They usually create things that can be filled. And I couldn’t help but think that when we allow ourselves to be on God’s wheel, He intends to transform our character, expand our capacity to hold more, and entrust us with more responsibilities. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48. And the longer we stay on His wheel, the more we will be shaped and poured into.
I have not met a Christian who is serious about God who doesn’t want to be a vessel for God. In fact, we get so excited about it that we want to be vessels of honor, ones that shine brightly. Nonetheless, we find it difficult to admit that there is a feeling of lightheadedness that comes when God starts to rotate the wheel. If you think about it, when a potter uses the wheel, the clay has absolutely no control and has no idea how it will be shaped by the time the potter is done. He might be shaped into a cup, a mug, or a vase. But one thing is certain: whatever shape or purpose that clay will fulfill, it must be on the potter’s wheel. Now, how many of us would rather go to church 24/7 and be active in every church program than be on God’s wheel? We tend to forget that there is a difference between inner work and outer work, though both are important. And I hate to tell you, but the potter’s wheel is not a work that can be done overnight, nor is it something that can be done once and done with.
Also, potters don’t have to discard broken pieces of clay. I have learned that they can even reuse broken pieces on the wheel, and the clay has no say-so about it either. If this is true for a regular potter, how true is it for God, who is the Master Potter?
One thing I have learned over the years is that we don’t get to say we are a vessel of God or even present ourselves to God as if we are already vessel material and tell Him to use us. I have learned that we may go before God and let Him know about our desire to be a vessel, but most importantly, we must ask Him to make us His vessel for His glory, which is different. When God makes you His vessel, then that’s His vessel. He can use you whenever and in whichever manner that pleases Him. God refuses to negotiate with other potters about His clay. And this concept is also related to the expression that says, God doesn’t call the qualified, but He qualifies the called. A vessel that is used for God cannot be shared because it is sacred/ set apart. No wonder God would often call people away from their family and country before He even gives them their purpose. And He would often transform them and use their inner work for a specific purpose, even if it is simply to worship Him. Therefore, it is imperative to allow God to make us His vessel rather than do it ourselves. And a vessel that’s not molded and shaped in the hands of God is a vessel that cannot hold much and be poured into, cannot be useful to God and men. But the good news is, God, the Master Potter, never throws away broken pieces of clay. He can place them on His wheel, create an entirely new pot of clay, and put it to use for His own glory.
Let us remain on the Potter’s wheel.
SCRIPTURES
“Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?” Romans 9:21
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7
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