Unblinded Faith: Open Your Eyes To God’s PromisesSample

Shaped with Intention

Do you ever wonder about what God was up to when He was busy creating you? Do you find yourself questioning whether He messed up?

In my early twenties, I had the opportunity to take a pottery class with my friend at the local university. After a semester of practice, we thought we knew enough to set out on our own. For weeks upon weeks, we showed up to the studio space, determined to become accomplished potters. Alas, the progression never came.

To create a beautiful clay vessel, you have to start with the right kind of clay—kind of like how we are all different within the body of Christ and not meant for the same purpose. Next, you get rid of all the air bubbles in the clay by repeatedly throwing it down on a solid surface before slamming it onto the wheel, making sure you get good suction. Sitting in the proper—and most uncomfortable—leaned-over position, you bear your weight onto the clay to center it. How often does God allow uncomfortable, stretching, pressure-filled life experiences to transform us into His perfect vessel? Finally, you pull and push against the clay to create the shape you had in mind. Finally, you cut it from the wheel with a wire and let it dry before moving on to the next stages of carving the foot and glazing before firing in the kiln. What a beautiful example of sanctification!

Want to know what all my efforts resulted in? My masterpiece—an itsy bitsy bowl fit for holding a tea light candle. It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but how I’ve treasured that little vessel simply because I made it.

Imagine how the Master Potter treasures us, His masterpieces, because He’s skillfully and purposefully shaped us into His vessels.

We all look different. We all fulfill a unique need. Yet we’re all made through a similar process. He knows where to push and pull on our hearts to make us into the vessels He had in mind before we took our first breath. He knows the glaze that best suits us as well as the firing temperature that won’t cause us to implode in the kiln. Yes, God is the Master Potter who knows what He’s doing with His clay.

How is God leading you to embrace His work as the Master Potter, who carefully formed you and shaped your life?