Into the Potter's Hands

If you were to stick your arm straight out and hold a water bottle in your hand for an extended period time it would gradually cause terrible pain to the muscles. The longer you hold it, the worse the pain will become.  And if someone held the water bottle just long enough it would eventually cause permanent damage to all the muscles in the arm.

Of course, you have to be holding that water bottle for a loooong time for it to finally cause permanent damage but the point of this analogy is to exemplify what will happen if we hold on to our past hurts in our life; the longer we hold on to past hurts the more permanent damage they will cause.

I remember hearing this example at Falls Creek 2008 from my Pastor, Deron Spoo of First Baptist Church Tulsa. I was reminded of this is when I was flipping through my old “True Images Bible for Teen Girls ” a couple days ago and I saw that I wrote this Falls Creek example on my binding. (Side note: Isn’t it so great to flip through old Bibles and journals? This lets us see how God spoke to us in the past and how he has helped us mature. It encourages me to recount my life and God’s movement in it.)

When searching through my old Bible this analogy seemed to resonate with me as deeply as it did in 2008. It spoke to my heart then during one of the hardest years of my life, when I was in the midst of letting go of the past. Now after seeing this again it is speaking in a totally different way. This time it didn’t just say, “Let go of the past,” but it said, “Let go of everything--past, present, and future.”

Past, future, and present?! Really? Letting go of the present and the future would mean letting go of my dreams --dreams that have helped me become who I am today. I wouldn’t think holding on to these would cause any harm whatsoever. But, again I hear, “Let go of everything.”

And I am very good at holding on. Holding on gives me a sense of familiarity, control, and comfort. One example of this is my wardrobe. I never get rid of clothing! I think I will eventually wear that shirt or those pants someday. But guess what? I never end up wearing them. So if I can’t let go of a piece of fabric, how am I expected to let go all of my life? And how and who am I suppose to give my life?

I first had to figure out what this “everything” is and how to let go of it. I got a pretty good idea out of one scripture I read:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)

My everything is all of myself. This all of myself I must deny. And these things I deny are not necessarily bad (ex: my passion for missions, my zeal for life, my diligence with academics), yet I am expected to give them up. And you ask why would I give these things up? And who will I be giving them to?

I have come to realize they were not mine to begin with--they were the Lord’s. They were put in me by God so that he could use them for the kingdom.  Lately I have manipulated theses passions and skills in a way I thought would be best for my life. But I remember that the things I think are best for me end up not really being the best at all. So, I think that is why the Lord was beating this “letting go of everything” over my head. He wanted me to know that my everything belongs to him and I am just soft clay in the potter’s hands for him to mold. I just need to trust in his design.

But letting go of everything is not the end. The last part says, “Follow me.” And those words are so simple but so complex. I don’t think any attempt I make to unpack this loaded phrase will do it justice. But I think that is the way the Lord intended it to be. The simplicity of the phrase makes it easy for believers to follow, while the underlying complexity challenges us to trust in God for the answers.  

I’m letting go and following, trusting God that my life will be enriched and faith will be produced. This is what the potter wants for my life, and this is also what he wants for yours.

Care to join me?

Thanks for reading!

Karlie