In His Hands

Isaiah 64:8
And yet, Yahweh, you are our Father;
we the clay, you the potter,
we are all the work of your hand.


Jeremiah 18:6
House of Israel, can not I do to you what this potter does? - it is Yahweh who speaks. Yes, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so you are in mine.


Here's an excerpt from a reflection in my most recent silent retreat.
...
Part by part, corner by corner, detail by detail, He is shaping me into His masterpiece. He pinches off the parts of me that are not required, removing my impurities in that sense. All I need to do is sit there on the wheel while God surrounds me with His hands and shape me into what He wants me to become. But sometimes, I get anxious when I cannot see what He is doing with me and I cannot understand why He is moulding me here and there, not knowing at all His larger plan for me. And sometimes, I cry out to Him that it hurts to go in this or that direction. His plan for me - the final product, lives only in His mind; He alone knows what I will turn out to be ultimately but since He is the ultimate Potter, His creations are all masterpieces, each, in its own uniqueness and perfection, glorifies His creativity and fineness of skill. When I become dry and difficult to mould, He adds water to me; He gives me His graces and blessings so that He can make me "mouldable" again and then, continue to shape me.


I have no hands to mould myself, nor legs to spin me round for Him to mould. I am solely and wholly dependent on Him who spins me on the electric wheel; His hands, my own. I have to put my whole trust in Him and surrender to the unknown plan that He has in His mind and wait for Him to command me to inch here and there, follow His command, smile back at Him as He does the moulding and await the day He completes this masterpiece of my life in eager anticipation and joyful hope.


God knows that I cannot retain the water in me and after some time, I will again dry up and become firm and difficult to mould. When I refuse to be moulded in stubbornness, pride and selfishness, He persuades me to persevere and be patient with Him. He adds water to me to soften my heart of stone with His immense love and invites me again to let Him be the Potter so that I can become more beautiful than the original raw formless shape I was in. He knows that when I experience His love for me, I will always give in.


In moulding me now, my Potter is preparing me for the ultimate fire; He does not throw me into a fire that is beyond my melting point and He wants to throw me into the biggest fire so that I can emerge very white, and then He can gloss me and place me together with His other great masterpieces. He does not say for how long He will leave me in the fire but I sure know that when He knows I am ready, He will take me out for the finishing touch and then eternal rest - I will not need to enter the fire again. 


...


As I spin round on the wheel, I look intently at my Potter, whose assuring hands I am in. I look at Him with eager anticipation and with an excited smile like those of a child. He looks back at me tenderly... as His hands mould me into a symbol of His love. 
...


End of excerpt


What does it really mean to be clay? Sitting on the wheel that spins us round...
What does it really mean to be in the hands of the Potter? 
How does the relationship between the clay and the potter shed light on our personal relationship with God our Heavenly Father?
Can we truly trust ourselves as the clay entirely to the Potter's hands that will mould us by His creative love?
What kind of clay are we? Are we easy to mould? How hardy are we? What temperatures can we withstand? 


"Lord, I surrender my entire life to You; Do with me as You will."


12 January 2011, Wednesday
12.10am