Yielding to the Potter

         The Vessel (Sonnet 20)
The potter sits intently at his wheel,
His full attention given to the jar.
Then suddenly his probing fingers feel
A flaw or lump or pebble that would mar.
The jar is spoiled; it must now be remade.
His hands reduce the clay into a ball.
His skill is followed and His will obeyed;
The clay is pliant, yielding at His call.
The potter works to press and shape and squeeze;
The quality no longer will be poor.
The final product is designed to please -
Without a doubt, far better than before.
Effective when the clay remains the clay,
And lets the skillful potter have his way.

The work is God’s. God selects and prepares the clay. He spins the wheel. He molds the clay and adjusts the shape. He evaluates the progress and identifies flaws. He chooses what the finished product should look like. God is a master potter, and He knows what He is doing. He will achieve His desired result.

Our part is to submit to His skillful hands. We can’t jump off the wheel. We can’t stiffen ourselves or refuse to be molded. We have to be willing to be squeezed and shaped. We need to trust the hands that are molding us.

“But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.” Jeremiah 18:4 (NASB)