“Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8)
If you ever visit a potters home any of us might be surprised to discover what is the favorite vessel, among his collection. It is easy to imagine many thinking that the newest vessel would be the pick. Most likely the very opposite.
Truth is there is always that old vessel which the potter would settle on. It has seen days. Once it was broken and the potter had to glue it all back together. Over the years it has endured all kinds of storms- it was once misplaced and thought lost, only to surface back again. As it has aged it has also yielded a certain mature taste once it holds water. The potter holds on to this vessel above others because he has been with it through and through.
And, by the way, this experience is not only restricted to potters. All of us in our lives have that object we treasure for we have walked with it for years. It could be a piece of cloth we can never part with because we know of its strength. Maybe it is that hardened vehicle in out in the parking shade we will never sell. Sometimes it’s an old seat made of certain furniture, steady and durable, once broken but still standing, that we would never let go.
In similar manner, God also has his favorite vessel- and know what, this is one which has been beaten up and broken, but is still there. It is a vessel God can rely on for better or worse, than any new one, for it has tasted times and is reliable. God looks down on it with pride for it’s a dependable vessel.
In life, as it we were, we can pass through all sorts of trials that leave us broken. Yet God lifts us up and mends us to be of greater service to Him. Perhaps we can wonder why He even lets these challenges come our away- when we should be His favorite. But only through such do we mature to be of greater service to Him. In other words our brokenness is what God needs to pick up vessels He can use. Do you want to become God’s favorite! How about also becoming a broken vessel, ready and available to be picked up by God for golden service.
Prayer today: Lord Father God of Abraham, maker of heaven and earth, if I want to grow in your service I pray to accept being a broken vessel, for that is when your hands lift me and mend me, to be the vessel you need, this I pray in Jesus’s name
