Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our Potter,
And we all are the work of Your hand. (Isaiah 64:8, Amplified)

 

The potter of the universe woke up one morning and decided he was going to make a beautiful vessel made from clay to water the flowers in his paradise of life. So, the potter went down to earth where he found dirt needed to begin the process. He filled his bowl with water from the Streams of Life, then gathered his stool and everything he needed to create his beautiful pottery.

 

First, the potter prepared the dry clay by sifting and removing foreign matter and letting it stand in water to achieve uniform granules.

 

 

Having achieved the desired texture, the potter mixed it by treading on it or hand-kneading it. Then the potter was ready to shape the vessel.

 

Second, he shaped the clay into the desired shape on a base or stand. Then the potter rotated the wheel and used both hands to “draw” the moist clay from base to rim into the shape of desired curvature, diameter, and height. 

 

 

Third, the vessel was set aside to dry to a leather-hard consistency. At this point, the vessel received its distinctive modifications such as base, handles, projecting decorations, and spout adjustment. Coloration and ornamentation are followed by a variety of options such as slips and paint, burnishing, incisions, impressions, and reliefs.

 

 

Fourth, a second drying period further reduced water content to about three percent.

 

Finally, the vessel was fired in an open or closed kiln at temperatures between 450-950 degrees Celsius to perfect the beauty of the potter’s desire and design. The potter sat back and said, “It is finished! My work is perfect!

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As I reflect on the pottery making process, it reminds me of the years my Father and Lord, have spent working in and through me to bring out the beauty of Christ within me. I had always felt, what good could come of my broken life? It has been a long and exhausting process. I have shed a million tears and fought a million battles in the flesh but amazingly, a million more with the grace of my Lord. “In that day” was a phrase used throughout the Bible I read over and over. It means, at an appointed time set by the Father, He reveals His perfect plans in our lives if we don’t faint or lose heart during the process. One day the Lord revealed to me who I truly was, I was not just a heap of clay but a loving child of the King, a Beloved Bride of Christ, and an amazing Temple prepared for the Holy Spirit to live through and dwell in! It was no longer words I believed or quoted but now a TOTAL REALITY! How awesome is that!

 

My brothers and sisters as we trust the process the Father is working in our lives; we all will experience and see the beautiful watering vessel He has prepared for all of humanity to drink from. Just remember, the challenges we face in life, the Potter, our Father can take each one to remove the debris and to mold us into what He has always had in mind…if we just trust Him and corporate in the process. The choice is ours.

 

Philippians 2:12-15 (Amplified)

 

¹² So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear (loving respect and reverence) and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. 

 

¹³ For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.

 

¹⁴ Do everything without murmuring or questioning [the providence of God], ¹⁵ so that you may prove yourselves to be:

 

• blameless 
• guileless
• innocent
• uncontaminated
• children of God without blemish in the midst of a [morally] crooked and [spiritually] perverted generation
• among whom you are seen as bright lights [beacons shining out clearly] in the world [of darkness].

 

Thank you, Father, for making us the vessels and containers of the water of Life (Christ) in us poured out to a lost and thirsty world.

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Enjoy Christ, Enjoy Life!