Do you ever think of your life not belonging to you, but belonging to God to fulfill His purposes? One of my favorite verses in the Bible is from Jeremiah 18: 6 which talks about God being the potter and us being the clay."...Behold, like the clay in the potters hands, so you are in My hands..."
But how many of us are willing and wanting to turn our earthly lives over to the one who created us, for His greater purposes? We think our lives are are own, don't we? I used to think that way, before I had a life changing health crisis. I learned very quickly, that my life didn't belong to me at all. It belonged to the one that created me, God Almighty, and He could do whatever He wanted to with it, at any time.
All along, I thought I was in control of my destiny. I had plans for my life. Everything was moving along nicely. I had successes at every turn. I was in the prime of my life. I had a great job, traveled and met interesting people. I had two great kids and a loving husband. I was very excited about the new division of my company that I was put in charge of called "Visions of Faith," an inspirational line of artwork that was new to the company, but one I felt I could handle with some fancy footwork. I knew that the Lord was up to something when I got put in charge of that division, but wasn't sure what it was until a few years later. He was the potter and I was beginning to see that I was the clay.
I was having a spiritual awakening of sorts through VOF, as we came to call it. The Lord was pulling me back to Him and I was beginning to see His hand in my life. I was talking with and working with a whole new group of people that were strong believers in Jesus Christ. Well, I believed in Jesus, it seemed like a natural thing for me.
I began re-connecting with the Lord through my job. Who would have ever thought? Talk about a God-Thing. The company I worked for, Mill Pond Press, was run by a great man named Bob Lewin, and he was a Jew. I never would have thought in a million years that I would end up being in charge of the "Inspiration Art Line" in our growing company, but there I was - critiquing pictures of Jesus with the religious artists before we published them. I was picking out the correct bible verses to go with the images. And, the Lord was beginning to use me in new and amazing ways to touch the lives of the people around me for Him.
Over the next few years, my faith grew at an ever increasing rate and I became closer to the Lord because, in many ways, I had too. He was forcing my hand and I didn't even realize it. I was talking, eating and breathing bible verses, and biblical artwork, and was surrounded by spiritual people at every turn. It was important that I talked their language. I was a believer, but my faith pre-VOF had been in a bit of a stalled position.
I attended church on a semi-regular basis, but it wasn't until a new pastor and his wife entered the picture did I begin to really see the Hand of the Lord upon me and things began to fall together. Not only at work, but now also in my church life as well. My husband had also had a spiritual awakening of his own and we began to worship the Lord as a family. I relished the times that followed and enjoyed every minute of it. God put the fast-forward button on my walk of faith because He knew what was coming, but I didn't. I became involved in a spiritual mothering class at church. God was opening new doors for me at every turn.
The Lord was molding me into the person he wanted me to be and I didn't even realize why until after I became very ill. He knew I was going to get sick before I did. He knew I needed to be closer to Him or I would never be able to withstand the serious health challenges that were coming my way.
He knows everything about all of us and He was preparing me by drawing me closer to Him so I could feel the safety of His loving arms when I needed it most. He was the potter, I was the clay. He was molding me into the new person He wanted me to be, just like a piece of clay in the potter's hands. Begrudgingly, I came along, knowing it was most likely in my best interest. Indeed it was, because shortly after I began the longest month of my life when the docs were searching for my MS diagnosis. If I didn't have the Lord to turn to during that time, I surely don't know what I would have done. He rescued me in a big way.
That's the thing about the Lord. All He wants to do is protect us, like any loving Father would do. But we buck like a crazy bucking bronco, trying to break free and have control, when we don't have any to begin with, we just don't realize it at the time. Silly us.
I guess the moral to this story is to let the great Potter mold your life sooner, rather than later, because it will just make for a more peaceful life for you. Take it from someone who's learned first hand to rely on the Lord. It's ok to rest and feel safe in the Potter's Hands. He knows what He's doing.
My verse for today is above in red.
My prayer for today:
Dear Lord Jesus:
You are the Potter, I am the clay. Lord, help me to let you do your work in me and mold me into the person you want me to be, knowing that you only have my best interest at heart, always.
Thank you Lord, that I can turn to you for every need, every concern, every little detail of my life. I truly am safe in the Potter's Hands.
In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen
