The very beginning of the process of making a pot/vase/plate/mug/whathaveyou is taking a portion from the block. I cut it off with a string or a wire. Even in this step (that literally takes 2 seconds), God shows up.
Romans 9:20-21 says, "But who are you, a human
being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who
formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ Does not the
potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for
special purposes and some for common use?"
Just as I know what I want to make on the wheel and pick a matching amount of clay, God knows what He is doing with me. Who am I? Who am I to say, but "WHY ME, God?" Have you ever felt that way? I have. Have you ever said those exact words out loud? I have. I've looked in the mirror, thought about my particular-ness, my insecurities, my ugliness, and I have thought, "Why did you make me like this?" Being in the studio, being the potter, gives me a chance to see myself through my Father's eyes.
Isaiah 64:8 says, "Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand."
Our Heavenly Father is the artist of our lives! God has a specific purpose for each of our lives (Romans 8:28), some are special purposes and some for common use. Is that bad? NO! Whether you are called across borders or called to stay where you are, God has His Potter's hand on it all.
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Next, you need to wedge. This part is really good for toning your arm muscles, and also really good for getting out all of the pockets of air in your clay. If you proceed without wedging, there is a chance that whatever you throw on the wheel will be bumpy. This causes for uneven walls - and not in a good way. Then, if you don't work out the bubbles while throwing the clay, it could get trapped in there as it dries. This heightens the risk of your piece cracking. Finally, as it is fired, science will happen! The air in the bubble will get super hot, the molecules will expand and move really fast, and with no where to go, the pressure will build. The pressure can get so intense (as the kiln heats and heats and heats) that your piece could explode in the kiln. However, that's not even the worst part! The shards of that piece have to go somewhere, and occasionally they will stick to another pot, and ruin that one as well! It's no good, people. WEDGE YOUR CLAY!
The lesson here folks is that the pressure and pain is necessary. There is a purpose. Though I might not ever know if my pieces would have exploded in the kiln or not, I continue to wedge. Though I might not know the purpose behind the pain in my life, I can trust that the Potter of my life WILL know. He is omniscient. He knows every bubble in us. The Lord of the Universe knows me to the depth of my being. He knows me through and through. He knows where there is a bubble of insecurity, which will lead to temptation, which will cause me to fall. He knows that if it festers for too long, I will explode. I will break down. The Master Potter knows me.
Psalm 139:1, "O LORD, you have searched me and you know me."
verse 5 says, "You hem me in - behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me."
verse 14, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well."
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This part is like stress relief! You just chuck the clay hard down onto the canvas, so as to get rid of all of the air bubbles. You knead the clay, pound the clay, and smash the clay. Poor clay....
Do you feel like you're getting wedged? Life is throwing you around, pounding you to look a certain way, or smushing you against a rock and a hard place? Take heart, my friends.
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 says this. "There we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
Friends, just as the wedging is part of the process, so are the troubles you face today. They will pass. God's hand is still on your life. The pressure is preparing you to be a beautiful vessel for His glory :) Hold tight.
^^^^ Air bubbles are a real and scary thing, people! Take precautions! ^^^^
Psalm
66:18, "If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have
listened;"
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Just look at that determination! I am grabbing that clay with confidence. I know I am going to make a vase. I'm gonna have bumps (literally) along the way, but I am going to make a beautiful vase!
I choose YOU. John 15:16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit--fruit that will last--and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you."
God chooses YOU.
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God is with us.
Matthew 1:23 says, "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" (which means "God with us").
As the clay sticks to the wheel, more pressure. Hold fast to God!
Deuteronomy 13:4, "It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him."
Acts 11:23, "...that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord."
Let's stick to being clay. God is the Potter. We are in for a wild ride. We have yet to be centered, opened, pulled, stretched, thinned, cleaned, dried, trimmed, fired, and dunked (into glaze). God's hand is on us always.
I hope you are encouraged by clay today!
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