Walk of Life – Day 6 – December 2020 – Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs
Jesus Christ – Our Divine Potter
Proverbs 6:23 -.”..reproofs of instruction are the way of life:”
The best instructor, the best teacher, the best person who can show you the right way to walk in is the Lord Jesus.
“Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after thy will, while I am waiting, yielded and still.” is a very popular hymn written by Adelaide Pollard at a time when she was at crossroads in her life. Miss Pollard was very troubled as she tried to raise funds for a trip to Africa but was not able to do so. At that time she attended a prayer meeting where an elderly lady prayed this prayer:
“It really doesn’t matter what you do with us, Lord – just have your way with our lives “
After the prayer meeting, she returned home and wrote the hymn as we sing it today. Submitting to reproof and instruction by our creator, the One who loved us and gave Himself for us, accepting that we are mere clay and He can do whatever He wants with our life – complete and total surrender.
Reproofs of instruction – This is a very not-sought-after word today. “You are telling me what to do, what do you know, I know everything”…as parents or teachers especially of teenagers or older, this is something that all of us hear on a regular basis. It is very difficult to accept that we are wrong. It is very hard to submit wholeheartedly to the Potter’s Hand. I love this allegory of Christ as the potter. I remember I was in my 12th standard and I had received my marksheet. My expectations were much more and I was highly disappointed with the marks I got. I came home and went on my knees and said Lord why? How could you give me such less marks? What course do you think I will get with this? That day the Lord spoke to me from Romans 9:20,21:
But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, “Why did You make me like this? Does not the potter have the right…” That verse struck hard and has stayed with me ever since. I am just mere clay in the potter’s hands. If I am not willing to accept reproof and correction, if I am not willing to be molded and shaped in the manner that He has planned for me, I will not be the vessel of honor that He desires me to be. It may seem strange the ways that He takes you through, you may not be able to fathom or understand anything that is happening in your life, but take heart my friend it is the Potter’s hand. He is busy working on me every day, every minute till He molds the shape that He desires. If the pot is not pleasing to Him, he would rework on it all over again. The process is painful, testing, correction, reproof, is all very painful but if you really want to be that honorable vessel fit for the potter’s use, submit to the potter’s hand.
“Test, test, test! This chapter in your life may look like rehab, smell like unemployment, sound like a hospital, but you are in training. God hasn’t forgotten you—just the opposite. He has chosen to train you. Forget the notion that God doesn’t see your struggle. Quite the contrary. God is fully engaged. He is the Potter, we are the clay. He’s the Shepherd, we’re the sheep. He is the Teacher, we are the students. Trust His training. You will get through this! – Max Lucado”
Prayer: Lord, help me to accept correction, the heat and the molding in the process of making a beautiful vessel, the pain and hurt, the sadness and suffering, the valley of the shadow of death, for I know you are busy in molding me into your image.
