The Potter's Clay

We all begin as unformed lumps of clay. Jesus, the Potter, sits at the potter's wheel and prepares to form us into a vessel that is worthy of Him. Clay represents our soul. The soul, which is the mind, the will, and emotions, must be changed from selfish and sinful to being like Jesus.

The potter can be gentle with the clay, but it won't be formed into anything exceptional. The curves, the walls, the opening, the handles, and even the bottom require more than a gentle touch. For a valuable vessel to be formed, one that is useful to the potter, He must squeeze the clay, constantly adding water to keep it flexible and alive. He has to apply pressure to move the clay in the desired direction. He presses and pinches it to create particular characteristics in the vessel. He does not stop until the vessel has taken on the form he desires.

When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they lived in the spirit realm. They began as beautiful and honorable vessels for the Lord. Genesis 1:26 tells us they were created in the likeness of God. They did not experience life as we know it until they sinned. They went from being the finished product of beauty to lumps of clay. From that day, Jesus has been working with humanity to form us all into His likeness.

Spiritually, we are on the Potter's wheel being formed, but what does that look like in this earthly realm? From our point of view, it can be harsh. We feel the pressure and frustration of life. The squeezing and pinching is hard to bear at times. The "iron sharpens iron" reality of relationships, the pain of watching our children go through tough times, the frustration on our jobs, the hurt from people we thought were on our side, can feel like God doesn't love us or even remember we are here. Rest assured He remembers. That's the Potter shaping us.

Proverbs 20:30 says, "Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts."

The Blue Letter Bible interlinear study breaks down this scripture like this:

Blows-blows that cut in; properly, bound (with stripes), i.e., a weal (or black-and-blue mark itself):—blueness, bruise, hurt, stripe, wound.

Cleanse-properly, a scouring, i.e., soap or perfumery for the bath; figuratively, a detergent:—× cleanse, (thing for) purification(-fying).

Strokes-blow, stripe, literally of scourging, chastising; a blow (in 2 Chronicles 2:10, of the flail); by implication, a wound; figuratively, carnage, also pestilence:—beaten, blow, plague, slaughter, smote, × sore, stripe, stroke, wound(-ed).

Innermost-inner parts of body, only figurative; an apartment (usually literal):—((bed) inner) chamber, innermost(-ward part, parlour, south, × within.

Blows that cut in cleanse us, washing away evil from our souls. Evil doesn't always mean devil. It is the human part that needs to be washed away. Self-ish. Focused on self. My parking place, my turn, my comfort, my way. These are the things the Lord wants to change in us.

Sometimes, these blows are corrections from the Lord for things we have done. "You reap what you sow" is not a whimsical ideal but a fact. We often experience hardship in our lives because of our actions. God is a good Father. He lets us learn from our mistakes.

Many of us have messed up in life. As the clay, we thought we would jump off the Potter's wheel and live our own lives apart from Him. You may have discovered, like I did, that clay can't really do anything on its own. Jeremiah 18 tells us that even if the vessel the Potter is making gets messed up, He will rework the clay into another vessel that is good. I am so grateful for that!

The things we experience in our daily lives are changing us from blobs of clay to the likeness of Jesus. It is not comfortable, and it can be downright painful at times. But it is necessary. Romans 5:3-5 shows us the process:

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Surrender to the Potter. Let Him form you into a vessel He can use. You are going to go through things in this life. That's just the way it is. You might as well be formed into something beautiful along the way.

Resources

Proverbs 20 :: English Standard Version (ESV). (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/pro/20/30/t_conc_648030