We are clay pots, simply jars of clay sitting and waiting for our master, the sculptor, to mold us into the perfect vessel he has purposed for us. Each mold is planned; each blemish is corrected by the masters’ touch. The master knows what we need in order to become the perfect vessel; he has the power to provide everything we need to become that vessel. Without the master, we would be a mere clump of clay without form or purpose.
This simple fact has been radiant throughout my life, yet I have only been conscious of it these past few months. God continues to mold me into the vessel He desires to use in order to bring Him glory, honor and for others to see the Lord at work and His power in a feeble life. My life hasn't been the easiest and has often been described as 'Hell', but I am beginning to learn that my life is a priceless work of art. God is sculpting my life in such a manner that I will be called His child and He will receive all the glory. There is not one thing in my life that was purposed in vain, each hardship, and each relationship, each painful circumstance was purposed as a preparation for God to get the glory of His redemptive work.
God is a God of preparation; He prepares each heart, each life, and each circumstance to allow us to be more like Christ. And the more we become imitators of His Son, the more His glory and sovereignty is revealed. It is only by His grace that we can even become anything, there is no way we can become a vessel (perfect or imperfect) with out the sculptors hand. God has and continues to sculpt our lives for the purpose of proclaiming the story of grace.
Now, I haven't always believed that God prepares us for every situation, I have had many questions, many of which I still have. Questions such as; How can God prepare me for my grandma's death, for my mother's desertion, for my family's conditional love, for my nephew's hardships? Although, I may never understand how God prepares us, I have to remember that He does, whether it feels like it or not. God is faithful and never gives us anything that we cannot handle, therefore His preparations give us the ability to handle life. It is that we often don't see His preparations, His work in our lives. We focus so much on the here and now and forget about looking to the one who gets us to tomorrow and brought us through yesterday.
With these promises, I am learning what it means to walk in that preparation. I have realized that over the past year God has been preparing me each step of the way. He used last school year to prepare me for this summer. He gave me the ability to accomplish for Him what I never thought possible. I was able to proclaim the story of His grace in my life. The same story that had crippled me for 20 years, in a matter of 3 weeks, became the story of God's grace. This time last year I would have cringed at the notion of sharing my story. Today, I am blessed to say that as long as my story remains the story of what His grace can do in a life, I will share it a million times over, for the purpose of those hearing to meet a God of grace and truth.
I'm a clay pot in the making; each day God is molding me into the perfect vessel He has chosen to use me to proclaim His purpose, to be a light that shines His glory. It is hard being molded, but God's hands are tender yet firm, He will never let me go. I can rest in the promise that I am safe in the hands of my Redeemer.
"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." (Phil. 1:6)
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. ... So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." (II Corinthians 4:7-10, 16-18)