“We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Cor. 4:7). “O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isa. 64:8).
Heavenly Father, thank you for the pottery images and great hope contained in these two verses. We’re grateful to be the carefully crafted “work of your hand”—those in whom you’ve placed the priceless treasure of the Gospel—Jesus himself.
Much of the time, however, we don’t really want to be clay in your loving hands. We want to own the pottery factory, be scriptwriters of our stories, CEO’s of our pain, other people, and every outcome.
How easily we forget (or ignore) you are working in all things for our good, making beauty from our ashes, and turning our mourning into dancing. Why do we doubt you? You gave Jesus for our salvation. Surely we can trust you for everything else we actually need (Rom. 8:32).
Today and every day, you call us to cease our striving, have done with our vexing, and forsake the illusion of our self-sufficiency. To “be still and know you are God” isn’t to lose control because we never had control to start with.
It’s to live in humility before you—the One who loves us more than anyone else. It’s to blush with gratitude for the riches of the Gospel you have lavished upon us. It’s to trust you, Abba—the one from whom all blessings flow, by whom all grace is given, and for whom all things exist. Thank you, and So Very Amen.