Identity Found in GodThe Potter and The Clay ~ The Potter ~ The Clay ~ The Idea ~ The Plan ~ The Refining Fire ~ The Reshaped Pot ~ Living as His Clay Pot The Clay But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. II Corinthians 4:7-9 Play-Dough. A substance that has been a part of many children’s childhood memories. The colors! The many tools and gadgets and molds that have been marketed to kids who “have to have”. I remember when our older children were younger, and we would get the Play-dough tub out and fill the kitchen table with Play-dough and all the parts that went with it. Those cool things where you could push down the handle and the lump of Play-Dough would come out in strings, spaghetti or French fries, or even hair on top of a head – incredible! Or those molds you could put a blob of dough in, squish the two ends of the plastic mold together and…POOF…chicken nuggets! The creations were endless! Hours and hours of fun! But wait! I don’t know about you, but this Play-dough experience has also gone down at our house too: The Play-Dough tub had been shelved for quite some time, when all of a sudden, one of the children gets a new set for their birthday. You search for the tub, find it, and dig out all the materials. One by one you open the Play-dough cans, and reach in only to discover a hard, cracked substance that, when touched, only crumbles. Not very moldable. When God’s word describes us as the Potter’s clay, what does that mean? By definition, clay is: an earthly material that is plastic when moist, but hard when fired…used for brick, tile and pottery. Something used for modeling. Clay is something that exists to be molded; to be made into something. This lump of substance would simply be just that if it weren’t for hands to mold it into something. If we are the clay in our Potter’s hand, that means we are “a substance” that has potential to be turned into something our Artist envisions. But what does this substance look like? Clay, Play-Dough, when take care of, when conditions are just right, remains in a state in which the Potter can use the clay as it was intended. But, when the dough gets left unattended, uncared for, and conditions turn the pliable material into something hard and cracked, it’s very difficult for the Potter to do His thing. How do we, the clay, remain in just the right state so that God, our Potter, can place His loving hands upon us to mold us into the beautiful work He envisions? There are the factors that the lump of clay has no control over. Ones that leaves us vulnerable or in a place where the impacts of a broken world cause us to dry up. The hurts and pains that crack our shell result from situations that stiffen us. What are we to do when we come across life situations that interfere with our desire to be pliable in our Potter’s hand? Fear, Anger, Frustration. Maybe hopelessness melts us into a slimy, gooey substance that has no form to even mold. There is hope as God’s clay. What if we do what we can to take care of ourselves? What can protect us from growing dry and cracked, or from becoming a slimy puddle? I go back to the image of Play-Dough. To maintain that nice, soft, pliable state, it is best to keep it in a sealed container, keeping it so it doesn’t have too much air or moisture, too much outside factors that might gradually dry it out. It can be out of the container for a period of time, but it can’t remain there. We do live in a world that has a lot of influence, and impact on us. It is so important that we, as the clay, come to realize what we need to do to preserve the pliability God needs us to have to mold us. For us, it’s not shoving ourselves into a can with a tight-fitting lid on it to secure pliability. For us, it’s surrendering and finding ourselves in the nurturing, strengthening, loving cleft our Potter provides for us. He is our protection, our rock or refuge when the storms of life brew and try and crack us. Finding ourselves nestled in His Word, in His Truth protects us from the damaging conditions life at times throws our way. When we fall into our Potter’s hands, we may be “hard pressed on every side”, “persecuted” and “struck down”, but we will not be ‘”crushed”, or “in despair”, and we will not be “destroyed”! May we be clay in our Potter’s hands. May we choose to take care of ourselves, to keep our pliability so our Potter can mold us as He desires. Write down what you may need to do to become more pliable in your Potter’s hands. Allow God to give you what you need to overcome the pressures that press, persecute and strike you down. Find yourself nestled in His hands, preventing you from being crushed, or in despair or destroyed. He is FOR you.
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Identity Found in God The Potter and The Clay ~ The Potter ~ The Clay ~ The Idea ~ The Plan ~ The Refining Fire ~ The Reshaped Pot ~ Living as His Clay Pot The Potter: Isaiah 64:8 – Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hands. I am always amazed at the art of pottery. I remember the pottery projects our kids did in school. We would hear about them and anticipate seeing the finished products. Then the day came when they were able to bring them home. Sometimes they came home in the form of a gift, and other times they would simply retrieve the project from the deep abyss, (AKA backpack). What accompanied the excitement, though, was always that crippling moment when they revealed their masterpiece, and I gazed upon a beautiful…a well-crafted…a nicely molded…um…whatchamacallit…You offer up sincere ooos and aaaahs and compliment them for their good work. But it doesn’t end there. Here comes the dreaded question, “Mom, do you know what it is?” Stammer. Stammer. I’ve learned the hard way to answer that question by replying with a smile on my face, “Well why don’t you tell me about it.” I then settle in to hear the description of their project, the detailed explanation of exactly what they had in mind and how they shaped the clay into this final work of art! A potter’s hands are amazing tools used to create beautiful things out of lumps of clay. A potter has the capability of looking at a blob of material and envision what it could potentially be made into. Not only that, but he knows how to do it. Have you ever watched a potter at work? He knows just how fast to spin the wheel, just how much clay to use, just how much water to add, and just how much pressure to apply as the clay is being spun. You can almost see it in their eyes. It’s as if they can see the final product in the midst of the process – from the very first step. The art of a potter is amazing. There are some of us who have an idea of what something should look like at the end, but don’t know how to go about getting there. In our human minds we can muster up an idea of what we would look like as a finished piece of pottery. We might do our best to spin our lives in such a way to craft us into what we think we should be. Or another scenario would be if we place ourselves in someone else’s hands. Maybe there is someone in our life who does a lot of manipulating and who spins us and places their handprint on our lives. But what if God has something else in mind? We can relieve ourselves of such pressure – the pressure of self-creating our clay pot, and the pressure of being molded by the wrong hands. Our Potter knows exactly how to mold us. Let’s consider God, our Potter. Remember He is the very one who created all things. In fact, all things He created out of nothing. He hand-crafted you and me, and breathed life into us. Now what? Scripture refers to our Maker as a Potter. He has the ability, the creative flare, to take this body of clay and mold it into what He envisions us to be. He is an artist we can trust. He knows the material He is working with – in fact, He made the material! He knows the make-up of His clay. He understands the limits and qualities of the clay. He knows the conditions that are needed in order for the clay to be molded into what He envisions it to look like on the other side. He is FOR us. He has a sketch, a plan, and if the clay cooperates, His good, perfect plan can be accomplished. Picture in your mind your Creator, your Maker, your Potter, smiling upon the piece of pottery He was given the opportunity to mold, perfect and refine. Sit in the hands of your Potter and be transformed. What self-created pottery do you need to turn over to your Potter? Is there someone in your life who is attempting to be your potter? Allow God to take over in that role. Write down what comes to your mind as you consider God as your Potter. Allow Him to share with you His plans – the details of the pottery He has in mind for you. This video gives a visual of a potter at work Identity Found in God The Creator and The Creation ~ The Creator ~ The Creation ~ The Relationship ~ The Purpose ~ Living Fully as His Creation Living Fully as His Creation Psalm 139:13-14 – For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful! There is a term used in psychology called self-fulfilled prophecy. Generally speaking, this refers to the idea of, “causing something to happen by believing it will come true”. An example of this is a child who believes their parents like their sibling better than himself. In response to this thought, the child begins to act as though that was true. Maybe they choose to act out or disobey, causing the parents to continually discipline the child, creating the sense that the other sibling is less difficult to deal with, and therefore IS truly liked better. Our mind is an influential part of our being. It is influenced by factors found in our environment around us. Who does our culture tell us to be? How is the expected or accepted way to live? Voices around us seem to scream, or sometimes whisper lies to us. Lies that say in order to really be someone, to really matter in this world you must look a certain way, dress a certain way. You must follow a certain path that keeps you on an imaginary ladder that supposedly finds more and more success with each rung. These voices are all around. What happens when you’re not feeling it? When you try and take the next step up the ladder, and you trip? What happens if you lose your job, or you get a diagnosis, or you realize that age is creeping in on your glamour, style and sway? Who do you end up being when life happens? It’s clear that when we step into the day and attempt to hold tight to worldly identity, we may find ourselves falling to the bottom of the ladder where we find no purpose or worth. Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…” Be reminded – God is our Creator who knit us together in an intentional, special way, who breathed life into us, who has already prepared things for us to do. He has us all in His plan. We are part of His story. Man has plans for us too. We need to shift our mind, shift our focus, our perspective FROM man’s expectations and fall in synch with God Almighty. He offers genuine fulfillment for those He loves so much. Each day is an opportunity for you to wake up and proclaim (out loud if it helps :) that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, a wonderful work of God, your Creator. Do as it says in Colossians 3:2, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Put it on your bathroom mirrors, post it on the dashboard of your car, plaster it on your work bulletin board. Position God’s purpose in front of you continually. Step into each minute anticipating what good works await you. Set your mind on the truth – the understanding that YOU are here for a purpose. There is a reason you are on this earth, in this generation, with specific gifts, talents and resources, surrounded by certain family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. We are not here to live a life that is measured by worldly success. We are not here to climb a ladder made of imperfect expectations that will crumble. But instead, we are created by God to live for Him, and to step on the path He has placed before us. We have a choice. Will you accept the invitation to live a life as a chosen, beautiful, worthy and purposeful creation, and walk towards the Garden with your Creator? Does the thought of this bring relief? Peace? An all encompassing smile on your heart? It sure does to me! Imagine yourself accepting the fact that you are His beautiful creation - that you believe that you are! How does it look to live in this truth? What is He saying to you? Take some time to be still before your Creator and allow Him to speak to you. Write His words down and believe them. He loves spending time with you! Make a commitment to Him that you will stop climbing an earthly ladder, but will stay in step with Him in all that He has planned for you. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things…And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9 Identity Found in God The Creator and The Creation ~ The Creator ~ The Creation ~ The Relationship ~ The Purpose ~ Living Fully as His Creation The Purpose Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance to do. Who knew the little baby who was placed in a basket in the great Nile River would be the very man who God created to lead the Israelites out of slavery, and who was the one God made to trust with the 10 commandments. Just imagine the list of ‘good works’ that Moses did. I am sure that as a Hebrew child raised by the Egyptians, Moses couldn’t even fathom the abundant good works God prepared in advance for him to do. Little David – the youngen of the family. The one who could fetch things for the others. I wonder if he felt it inside of him? Could he tell? Did he anticipate the good works that God had prepared for him? He seemed to have the love for God at his core, and seemed quite secure in who he was in God’s eyes. I wonder if this trust and faith in God gave him a kick in his step as he went to face the giant? Oh, the confidence he reflected as he stepped into the work God had prepared for him to do time and time again. Young, innocent Mary. A typical teenage Nazareth girl, preparing to be united with her man, Joseph. She most likely couldn’t have imagined or predicted the work God had in mind for her to do. But obediently, she stepped into it saying, “May it be to me as you have said.” Luke 1:38 Scripture is packed full of accounts of real live people, God’s creations, like you and me, whose testimony reflects the good works God prepared in advance for them to do. Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Isaac, Joseph, Ruth, Isaiah, Gideon, Paul Mary Magdalene, Timothy, John, Peter, oh the list goes on and on - what purpose they had. Your name is on this list. God has created YOU. He’s made you with something in mind. He has some good works for you to join Him in. You are just as important to your maker as Moses or David or Mary. He is still at work and still is in the business of working through His children. Are you curious? Are you like me and prefer having a plan of action? A list to check off? Do you want to know your purpose? Wonder why God created you? Generally speaking, there are several answers to that question. What is the purpose of my life? Rick Warren sums them up nicely in his book, “The Purpose Driven Life”: Worship, Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry & Mission. Some of the reasons we are created are to spend time with and praise our God and give Him glory, to commune with Him and with brothers and sisters, to learn more and more about Him, to spread the Gospel with others. We are here to do these things that God has already put into motion. Sometimes we get a little confused with our earthly purpose. We can be influenced to think that our purpose is to be successful in our families and in our jobs – to achieve the bigger and the better. It feels as though there is a race to be involved - to be busy - the busier, the better. Sometimes we may come close and voice that our purpose is simply to be kind and helpful and offer love to others. But as we really settle in to the core of our purpose – our higher calling, as we resolve to seek the reason God created us as opposed to try and discover what culture wants of us, there is a great wave of satisfaction and fulfillment. Lean into what it means that the God of all creation has specific tasks in mind for you. Maybe instead of being infiltrated in commercials, tv, movies, social media, magazines, or other sources of distorted purpose, spend time getting ideas from God through prayer and reading His Word. He will reveal His plans for you. Go to Him looking and seeking His purpose in your precious life. I challenge you to dig into this more. Not necessarily try to predict the good works, but ask. Ask God to reveal to you what He has in mind for you. In each day, there is reason to wake up. There are the broad purposes God has for you, and there are daily, monthly, seasonal purposes He is preparing. Know that you are here for a reason. You are God’s handi-work, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works that God has planned in advance for you to do. Know that your Creator has a plan and a purpose for you. Spend some time thinking about the value you have – that God created you for a purpose. Write down “good works” God has in the past, and is currently planning for you. What is He nudging you to explore with Him? What are you involved in that may not necessarily be a "good work" He has for you in this season, but instead something maybe others want you to do? Are there things you are labeling "good" that may need to be set aside so that you can fully engage with God in HIS good works? Stay in step with Him and just breathe! Identity Found in God |
AuthorVicki Conn Archives
June 2017
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