ALL IS SECURE IN GOD’S HANDS



Isaiah 64:8 NKJV
“But now, O LORD, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.”

The imagery of pottery—shaping vessels from clay—appears in many parts of the Holy Scriptures. Most often, the LORD is portrayed as the Potter, with His people as the clay in His hands, as in our text. That imagery is truly priceless, especially when viewed from the perspective of a delicate vessel being handled by divine hands, where the earthly clay rests securely in the hands of the Heavenly LORD. When the LORD had a prophetic message for Israel through Jeremiah, He used that imagery. Jeremiah was told, “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words” (Jer 18:2 NKJV).

Once at the potter’s, the Prophet found him shaping a vessel. However, “…the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him” (Jer 18:4 NIV). The LORD would use that to pass a message, saying, “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel” (Jer 18:6 NIV). Hallelujah! Notice, although the vessel the potter was shaping got “marred [broken] in his hands”, the potter was not moved because he could form the clay into “another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.” In other words, considering that the clay was in the able, skillful, and seasoned hands of the potter, it would definitely become a useful vessel at some point. Hallelujah!

Another thought to reflect on is this: God sent His servant to the POTTER’S house, but not to that of a GOLDSMITH (one who makes gold articles). Could it be because—like clay vessels, which are fragile, short-lived, less costly, and attract almost no attention than gold—the LORD had a silent message for His people on humility? The Apostle Paul appears to share this thought when he said, “…we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us” (2 Cor 4:7 GNT). Hallelujah! Beloved, as long as we remain in the divine hands of the LORD, our Great Potter, all is well—for He is not finished until His work with us, the clay, is complete.

Pst. Emmanuel