Clay in the Hands of the Potter

We can humbly submit ourselves to our Creator, recognizing that we are like clay, to be molded by our loving and wise potter into whom He has made us to be. Isaiah 64 states:

8 But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.
9 Do not be furious, O Lord, Nor remember iniquity forever; Indeed, please look--we all are Your people!

God charts the course for our lives and has determined our steps - but, He has also given us a choice regarding whether or not we will follow the path that He has ordained for us. We have to keep in mind that there are consequences for not living in His way and following His will and that we can experience true joy and satisfaction because we can know that we are pleasing Him. We discover God's will by immersing ourselves in His Word and trusting in His Spirit to lead us. 

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There is a wonderful image that is found several times in Scripture, depicting our relationship to God as being like the relationship between a potter and His clay.  Those of us who know Christ have placed ourselves on the potter's wheel, with the expectation that God will work in us to mold us as He sees fit. 
The Bible says in the 45th chapter of Isaiah:
9 "Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork say, 'He has no hands'?
10 Woe to him who says to his father, 'What are you begetting?' Or to the woman, 'What have you brought forth?' "

The Christian Heart website tells the story of how God is using the actual making of pottery in the lives of women who have encountered hardship in their lives. In so doing, He is exhibiting the work of a loving Father in making them who He wants them to be.

The story, which was apparently submitted by a reader of the website, is about what is called, "Prodigal Pottery," and its home base is Birmingham.  The submission states:

Located inside a women’s shelter, Prodigal Pottery teaches women who may have been victims of abuse, addiction or trafficking to make pottery. It’s amazing to see how God put all the pieces of this ministry in place.

The writer recounted her experience in Rwanda teaching arts and crafts, and how she sensed that God was leading her to work with this outreach out of The King's Home, which had just been donated a kiln for pottery-making.  She says:

I started in 2014 with three women coming to learn how to make pottery. It became a time when I could minister to them, love on them and talk through anything that was on their minds. We made some pottery pieces that we brought to a small art show a few months later. To our amazement, we sold every single piece of pottery, and had 50 more people give us pre-orders for future pieces. That’s when things shifted. Women in the shelter need some type of income and had always been encouraged to have a job and learn the regimen of the outside world. So Prodigal Pottery became a way for us to employ some women without them having to leave the safety of the shelter.

So, the women learn not only about Jesus, but they also acquire life skills that can help them in the future - certainly a holistic approach.  The 3 "E's" found on their website are: Employ, Equip, and Empower.  In that third section, the site states:

We work daily to empower the women we serve through dignified work where they know they are valued, loved, and supported. Our greatest desire for our women is that they would walk out the doors of Prodigal Pottery every day knowing they are strong, capable, and loved, and that the Lord has a powerful and important plan for their life.

This is a creative way to share redemption, and we know that God will give direction and inspire ideas through which people can come to Him.  It is certainly an incredible story of how God brings transformation into a person's life and how those who have struggled with identity can find their worth and dignity in Him. Through simple pottery classes, women have discovered the true potter who can make them who God wants them to be.

So we can ask ourselves, are we willing for God to mold us? He has an incredible plan for each of us and He can bring that about; but we have to be open and obedient to allow the Holy Spirit to do His work through us.  And, even when we discover the "broken pieces" of life, we can depend on the Lord to put us back together - actually, to remake us in His image.