Now perhaps this should have been last week’s post and maybe things are a bit out of order here. The past couple of weeks I’ve been reminded of a pretty important part of messing with clay. Before the work really gets started and before the lifeless lump of clay can begin to look like something it needs to be softened. But how does a potter soften the clay? 

I’m no potter so perhaps I’m totally wrong here but I believe a potter has to knead a lump of clay before she can work with it. One can’t just put a block of fresh clay on a wheel and start to form it into something recognizable. First you have to make it pliable. You need to soften it and work it in your hands so that it’s ready to be manipulated on the wheel. But how does that happen?

You guessed it – pressure. And sometimes lots of it! A potter takes his hands and presses them into the clay. She will squeeze the lump in her hands. Sometimes even pounding the block of clay to get it loosened a little. Before the clay is even placed on the wheel, it needs to be made ready.

Now a couple of weeks ago I lost a close friend, more of a spiritual father actually. I was devastated to say the least! I was preparing for vacation when this loss occurred and it forever changed me. This was just the beginning of the pressure he had in store for me. Then one thing after another the pressure began to mount, and I began to soften. My hard-headed nature was quickly becoming more pliable until I realized that the Potter had a different plan for my vacation – to not go. Some will never understand it. Others will question my reasons, but when you’re under the pressure of the Potter’s hands you really don’t have a choice.

I don’t know what you’re going through right now. Perhaps you’re spinning wildly on the wheel. Maybe you have the hands of the Potter all over you. Maybe you’re near completion in your walk through this life and ready to meet the Potter face to face. But perhaps you, like me, are still being softened a bit. If you are here’s what I know.

The Potter knows how much you can handle, and he will apply more pressure than you can handle. Yes, you read that right. He will put more pressure on you than you can take. It’s only when there’s too much pressure for us to handle on our own that we finally are soft enough to be shaped and formed.

While applying the pressure, he’ll always be right there. He’s not going to hand you off to someone else. He’s not going to give you to an apprentice or anything like that. He’s going to be right there with you, the whole time. The Bible promises that he will never leave you nor forsake you. I can tell you not just because I believe it but also because I’ve lived it – that’s a true statement! I’ve been under some immense pressure in life and not once have I ever had to deal with it alone.

Finally, when the pressures mount know you are not physically alone either! Not only is the Potter with you through the pressures of life, he’s also put others there to help you get through. Not going on vacation was the most difficult decision I’ve ever made but knowing that my family and church family have stepped in to support me through this challenge means the world to me. Don’t try to navigate the struggles of life alone. If you’re under pressure, find someone on whom you can lean.

So there you have it. Clay needs to be softened with a little pressure. It needs to be centered on the wheel. And it can’t become something without the Potter’s hands.