I often wonder, what kind of a vessel am I, anyway?  Which is just another way of wondering,  “who am I?” and “why am I here?”  2 Timothy 2:20-21 says, “In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble.  If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”

Well, I certainly want to be prepared and useful.  But the preparation process is often painful.  It requires time in the kiln.  (see previous post, this post is another in the potter series)

I may feel that I am not the vessel that I want to be.  There are other bigger, stronger, lovelier, more colorful, more pleasingly shaped or more intricately designed pieces of pottery than I am.  Did the potter make a mistake when He created me, I wonder?  (something tells me others often ask this very same question)

“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?’ ”  (Romans 9:20)

“You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, ‘He did not make me’?  Can the pot say of the potter, ‘He knows nothing’?”  (Isaiah 29:16)

“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker,   . . .    Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’  Does your work say, ‘He has no hands’?”  (Isaiah 45:9)

Well, that’s all pretty clear – we need to trust that our Potter/Creator knows what He is doing.  We are not mistakes.  On the contrary, our Creator formed and fashioned each one of us with intention and with care.

We read in Psalm 139:13-14, “For You created (some translations say “formed”) 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, I know that full well.”

God’s works are wonderful and we are the work of His hands.

“Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn Your commands.”  (Psalm 119:73)

“For we are God’s workmanship, (some translations say ‘masterpieces’) created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  (Ephesians 2:10)

Job knew who his Potter was.  He cried out to God in his distress, “Your hands shaped me and made me.  Will You now turn and destroy me?  Remember that You molded me like clay.  Will You now turn me to dust again?”   (Job 10:8-9)

Well, it turned out God had good intentions and purposes for Job, just as He has good purposes in mind for you and for me.  If I could just stop questioning my Maker and rest in what His word tells me, I would be a much happier, more content vessel, ready to be of service.  I guess that will happen when I completely trust Him.  Then I will no longer doubt and question why He made me as He did.

what kind of vessel am I?  one created with intention and purpose in mind, that’s what kind.  and I can rest assured –

“The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your love, O Lord, endures forever – do not abandon the works of Your hands.”   (Psalm 138:8)

“I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”  (Psalm 84:10)

sincerely,      Grace Day