“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8
How absolutely beautiful it is that the Father looks down on us and truly sees us. How incredible that He sees every flaw and every scar and does not abandon us. Instead, in His perfect unescapable love He seeks us out, pursues us, and with His gentle yet mighty hands, shapes and molds us into a beautiful masterpiece all to bring glory to His name.
Jeremiah 18 paints the picture that we are clay in the hands of the Master Potter! How beautiful of an illustration is that? Jeremiah, observing the potter and his clay, notices a piece of vessel that is unruly. This piece of clay is deformed or what we would call rough around the edges. The potter, in grace, looks upon the clay and instead of throwing it out, begins again to create something good out of the clay. The marred vessel, that seems to be our lives, isn’t worthless in God’s eyes. He sees our brokenness and takes pity. He knows that our vessel is not expressing the original thought of His creation and begins to manipulate and work the clay. The most beautiful thing is that the potter did not abandon the imperfect pot, he stuck with it and sought it out to make it into His vision. This is what God has done for us.
The Father looks at us with care, not to leave us where we are, in all of our brokenness and sinfulness. He meets us where we are and begins to shape us and mold us; manipulating the unruly parts of our clay into the vision He has for our lives. How seemingly lovely that is, that the God who is the Master Potter, would see us and love us and want to spend the time to create something beautiful out of us?
My world is breaking me, Your love is shaping me And now the enemy is afraid of what You're making me
And as I fall apart Come flood this desert heart Fall like the rain, Living Water And I know Your way is best Lord, help me find my rest And I'll be the clay In the Hands of the Potter
"In the Hands of the Potter" by Casting Crowns