Three years ago, a friend invited me to a women’s event at her church. I don’t usually attend women’s events, but since it had a free buffet, I agreed. We arrived a little late, and the keynote speaker was already on stage. As some volunteers quietly ushered us to empty seats at a table, I got a better view of the podium, and what I saw excited me. The speaker was doing pottery!
I have always had a weird fascination with clay. The idea of using raw material and transforming it into a beautiful piece of art attracts me like a bee to a flower. When I was in primary school (the grades before junior high), I used to watch with envy fine arts students working on their creative projects in the corridors outside the classroom. I looked forward to the day when I will be able to take the class and unleash my creativity.
But when the time finally came, I was abysmal. My only achievement in that class was my consistent poor performance. It turned out I was not that kind of creative.
Nevertheless, I never stopped admiring the arts and hoped to try pottery one day. So when I realized I would get to watch live pottery I was delighted. But I was also intrigued. What did pottery have to do with the Bible? Well, a ton!
The Bible frequently uses the imagery of God as a potter, and we as the clay to describe His relationship with us. And part of that speaker’s ministry involved sharing the gospel using that imagery. She took us through the various steps in pottery, explained their spiritual significance, and seasoned it with her gut-wrenching but beautiful testimony.
And here is what it means to be clay in the potter’s hand.
But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8
Gathering the clay
The first step in pottery is collecting clay. Nowadays, we can easily buy clay from retail stores or get it shipped from Amazon. But in biblical times, the potter went to the swamps, riverbanks, or surrounding wetlands to find it. The clay would be filthy, smelly, and mixed with impurities, but the potter would still gather it in his container because he understood that cleansing was part of the creative process. He didn’t search for the perfect clean clay but the right one.
God also searched for us; we did not find Him. He found us dead in our sin, covered with failure and shame, and didn’t wait for us to be perfect or clean before gathering us. Instead, He stooped down to the ground and drew us from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set us on the rock (Psalm 40:2). Indeed, it is while we were still in our sins that Christ Jesus died for us (Romans 5:8).
Preparing the clay
Next, the potter must remove all foreign materials out like pebbles, twigs, etc. from the clay. He does it by submerging the clay in water to filter the dirt. Afterward, he sets the clay to dry but makes sure it doesn’t dry out completely as the water makes clay soft and pliable.
I think of the water as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. As the water reveals and filters out the dirt in the clay, the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and helps us to remove it from our lives. The Holy Spirit is also the one who turns our hearts of stones into flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). He is the living water that regenerates us so that we can be malleable in God’s hands (John 7:38-39).
When the clay is dry, the potter puts it on a table and applies pressure to the clay by pushing it down, rolling it, and even beating it with rods. He does it to orient the clay in the direction he wants and to remove pockets of air, and any residual earth impurities. The pressure makes the impurities rise to the surface so that the potter can easily pluck them out.
This illustrates how God cleanses us after He saves us. He will also apply pressure in our lives and put us through difficult situations to expose our sins so He can pluck them out. It is a painful process as we must die to ourselves, but it is necessary for our sanctification. If the potter doesn’t remove all the impurities or air pockets, it will create problems later in the process. Therefore, we must endure God’s chastising until He is done.
Molding the clay
Now that the clay is clean and smooth, the potter can begin to shape it.
The first step is centering the clay on the wheel. If the clay is not centered correctly, the potter can’t do anything with it, and it will eventually break apart. At first, the clay struggles, and the centrifugal force tries to take it off the center of the wheel. However, the potter holds the clay firmly in place, and eventually, the clay yields and gets balanced.
We must also strive to live a Christ-centered life. And we do that by obeying the Word of God (1 John 2:3). To center the clay effectively, the potter uses a lot of water. If there isn’t enough moisture in the clay, it won’t stick. Likewise, if we do not abide in God’s Word, we will not abide in Jesus. (John 15:10) And if we do not abide in Christ, we can do nothing (John 15:4).
Next, the potter plunges his fingers carefully into the heart of the clay to make an opening. He then works from the inside to draw the clay upwards into a tall vessel. And as the potter keeps working and applying pressure inside, changes begin to show on the outside.
God also reaches deep within us, in our hearts and souls, and works there to change us (Hebrews 4:12). It is a slow process as God searches our hearts and sees is there is any hurtful way in us (Psalm 139:23-24, Jeremiah 17:10). But when we humble ourselves under His mighty hand, He will lift us and exalt us in His timing (James 4:10, 1 Peter 5:6).
Lastly, when the potter finishes molding the clay, he slows the wheel and adds finishing touches like carving, depending on the vessel he is making. Likewise, God also has a specific calling for every one of us. He will uniquely carve us and endow us with everything we need to fulfill it (Ephesians 2:10).
Firing the vessel
Next, the potter will dry the vessel and put it in a kiln —a furnace or oven with temperatures ranging between 800-1000 degrees Celsius. The high heat will permanently alter the molecular structure of the clay and will change the vessel from weak and soft to firm and durable. Without the firing process, the vessel will not withstand its intended use, and even the slightest amount of pressure will break it.
God also puts us through the fire. He allows trials and tribulations into our lives to refine and strengthen our faith (1 Peter 1:6-7, Psalm 66:10). Whatever unique purpose God has for us, it will undoubtedly come with opposition and hardships. And if our faith is weak, we will crumble under the pressure that accompanies our troubles. So we must not despise the master Potter’s refining fire!
Also, during the firing, the potter will often pull out the vessel from the kiln, to check its solidity. He does it by thumping it. If the vessel “thuds,” it’s not ready, and the potter returns it in the kiln. But if it “sings,” the vessel is ready. Likewise, God will “thump” us to test our spiritual maturity. We thud when we react to setbacks with complaining, whining, or rebellion. But when we count it all joy (James 1:2) and praise God’s goodness in our suffering, we “sing.”
Using the vessel
The potter knew the type of vessel he would make and its use before he even gathered the clay. He determined its shape, length, and breadth, etc. to serve a specific purpose.
God chose us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and formed us with a specific purpose. He told the prophet Jeremiah, “before I formed you in your mother’s womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)
And David said, “My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:15-16).
This means we must surrender to God’s will for our lives and only go where He calls us to go. The clay doesn’t tell the potter what to make; the potter decides what to make of the clay.
Isaiah 29:16 says, “You turn things upside down! Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, “He did not make me”; or the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?
We must trust God’s plans for our lives, and not rebel against His perfect design. The Master Potter has wonderfully and fearfully made us, and fulfilling His purpose will bring us joy and glorify Him.
So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
Jeremiah 18:3-4
It may happen during the molding process, that the clay may not develop properly in the potter’s hand. When that occurs, the potter will take the clay off the wheel, bring it back to the table, and carefully apply pressure to remove the defects and reorient the clay. When the clay is ready, the potter will bring it back to the wheel and mold it to a new vessel.
If perhaps the clay dried out and became hard and brittle, the potter can still redeem it. He will break it into multiple pieces and submerge them in water to make it malleable. Then the potter will let the clay dry to the right consistency and start the process again.
Regardless of the clay’s condition, the potter never gives up on it!
God, as the Master Potter never gives up on us (Jeremiah 18:6). No one is too far gone or too broken that God can’t rescue or heal. If we turn to Him and repent from our sins, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from our sins (1 John 1:9).
We will have to go through a harrowing molding process afterward, but God will never leave our side.
We are always safe in the Potter’s hand!
