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Remember the Clay

 

Psalm 103:14 - For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. 

God remembers but we often forget! We think we are made of steel or of gold, but God knows we are made of dust.

Why? Well for one reason it is a humble material that is worthless apart from the skillful hands of the potter. Clay is material with great potential; it can be molded into something useful. God has a purpose for every life, and the clay dare not argue about it. “Hath not the potter power over the clay?” asks Romans 9:21, and naturally the answer is “Of course, He does.” 

It is when the clay fails to yield to the potter that the vessel becomes marred. All that clay can do is yield. It cannot mold itself; it can only surrender to the potter and let him do the molding. But if the clay fails to yield, the vessel is marred.

But see the patience of God: “He made it again another vessel” (Jeremiah 18:4). If a life has been marred through sin and rebellion, there is always the forgiveness of God and the opportunity to start afresh. Abraham needed a second chance; so did Jonah; so did Peter. The Potter is willing to forgive and go to work again on the vessel, for He longs to make it “meet for the master’s use” (2 Timothy 2:21).

The only time the potter cannot remold the vessel is when the clay has become so hard that it no longer responds to His touch. Is it any wonder the Word warns us often against the hardening of the heart?

From – “Thoughts for Men on the Move,” by Warren Wiersbe