I’ve been struck by a very simple question found in Romans 9:21 – a simple question but with profound implications. “Does not the potter have the right?” In the illustration of the potter and the clay, the answer is clear. Yes, of course. The clay simply yields to the potter’s hands and becomes what the potter has chosen. In our lives, the answer is the same, but not one we always find easy to accept.
But the secret to finding peace in that answer is simply in knowing and trusting the Potter. If you question the Potter’s wisdom, doubt His unfailing love, and wonder if He will choose what is best, then you will it hard to yield to His hands as they shape and form you. If you trust Him, then you will trust the work of His hands in your life.
Sometimes, it’s not the end result that we question, but the Potter’s means of accomplishing the final vessel of His choosing. We don’t like His methods. We don’t like the process. Once again, the secret is in resting in the truth that His ways are not our ways. We would like Him to just effortlessly (and painlessly) form us into a beautiful vessel for His glory. But clay that won’t yield to the Potter’s hands (even with they seem rough) remains a useless lump of clay.
2 Corinthians 4:7 gives us a clear picture of the ultimate goal of the Potter. “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” We are being formed to hold a treasure – a treasure that reveals the glory of the Potter rather than the pot.
God knows what He’s doing. “Does not the potter have the right?” Absolutely! And the end result is a pot which He lovingly uses for His purposes and His glory. What more could a lump of clay ask for?
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