Isaiah 45:9

“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’?”      

Isaiah 45:9

Found yourself in a tough spot lately?  Welcome to the wheel. I once knew a lady that did clay sculpting and pottery.  I was always fascinated to watch her form a lifeless lump of clay into beautiful figures and vases.  But the part that interested me the most was the process of preparing the clay.  It’s called wedging the clay, where the potter throws the lump down on a hard surface and pounds the air bubbles out of it.  If there is any air in the clay, it will explode during the firing in the kiln.  

It seems that in every good work we seek to do for the Lord — whether at home, at work, or at church — there’s a time of preparation.  A time of trial and testing where we feel like we’re getting the air pounded out of us.  Many quit at this point but be encouraged that this preparation will help us through when the fires really get hot and we can then come forth as a “vessel for honor…useful for the Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21).

On the wheel,

Pastor Gerard Deleeuw