But now, O LORD, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
I did not make you to break you, to shatter you, and forsake you, I made you to shape from your mother’s womb to maturity as a beautiful vessel of honor filled with the light of My love. A person of renown, complete in spirit, soul, and body, crowned with glory and honor, ready for every good work.
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. Psalm 139:13-18.
I make and shape you to live life to the maximum. The abundant life of blessing.
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and increase greatly, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:27-28.
My hands form you in My image and then I prosper the work of your hands. I empower you to prosper and succeed.
The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand. Genesis 39:1-3.
You, like Me, make and shape things with your hands.
Do not be sitting on the sidelines while others are taking the prize or while it is going unclaimed. David heard the opportunity of reward in fighting Goliath and he took it. All the others hid in fear, trusting only in the flesh to win and not looking unto Me.
Two servants given talents took the opportunity of reward and reached out and prospered what was in their hands, but one buried it and did nothing. He was living in fear of punishment so he did nothing. I called his fearful inaction evil and lazy.
What are you taking? Or are you living like the barren bush in the desert that does not see the opportunity for good when it comes? A barren and dry existence shaping nothing of value with your hands but rather lifting them to grab and strike or just letting your hands lie idle at your sides the entire day while you walk in idle pursuits.
Or are you like the flourishing tree that puts its roots into the underground well springing up to eternal life? Living life to the maximum makes you fruitful and your fruit will endure by doing all you do unto Me.
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law (Torah) of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its foliage does not wither; and in all he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:1-3.
Whatever work you do never regard it as little and insignificant but instead do even the smallest tasks as works of excellence unto Me. Not grudgingly, not with ill will, not with resentment, not thinking you are too good for that task, and never with rebellious hatred in your heart for I love a cheerful giver and increase you so you have more to give. Whatever you do, do it as unto Me and not a unto men. And that takes the focus off whether you like or dislike the person. It is all about your love for Me that makes you good to others, for I reward, I bless, I deliver, I promote, and it is I who prospers the work of your hands.
Joseph did not consider himself, the favored son, as too good to do the work of a slave for a harsh master when it was the work he could take at the moment with his hand. He did all he did unto Me and I shaped him into a vessel of honor for fruitful works that would bless an empire and all the nations around it. If you are faithful in small matters I can promote you to greater responsibilities and increase the fruit of your life.
Be sure you do not just say “yes” to opportunities and then never do them. Follow through. Keep your words that are according to My Words, even if it later looks like it is not prospering you personally but only others. When you give, you will receive.
Work with Me in shaping and sculpting your life into a beautiful and worthy work of artistic design as the work of a skillful workman. Exodus 28:3.
Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to devise devices and make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of workmanship. And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are wise of heart I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you. Exodus 31:1-6.
Be serious about focusing on living a life of love. Be focused about what you are doing with your life each moment and living life unto Me. Live to the maximum and you will be happy for I did not make and shape you in My image and according to My likeness to live a life of mediocrity and unfruitful activity. I made you for greatness, to reign with Me in life.
Do not let opportunities to grow each day slip by you while you strike back with wicked claw or just retreat to the sidelines and let life, the life that is life indeed, pass you by while you sit with the scoffers.
Looking unto to Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith, run the race for the joy that lies before you—life eternal crowned with glory and honor, crowned with many crowns. Fight the good fight of faith with your eye on the reward. David fought Goliath with his eye on the reward that Saul, the king, had promised to the one who took Goliath down, and he won.
Take every trial and test and turn it into an opportunity to win the prize that is on the other side.
Search your heart, if you find iniquity and ill will, pull it out with love and a joyful shout for the reward you will receive as My good and faithful servant and I will be there as your helper. My grace is sufficient for you. I give you the skill to do the work at your hands.
Live with pure intentions in your vessel and you will be filled up with joy. The joy of a life well lived in Me, in whom you live, and breathe, and work and be.
Let us look again at the potter and the clay, for there are amazing truths to learn here.
But now, O LORD, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8.
Potters use their hands and fingers to shape clay into artistic creations and items for use such as vessels and vases, cups and bowls. Wheel throwing pottery is the process of shaping clay on the pottery wheel. Throwing usually involves a few steps from the beginning to the end of making a vessel. These are centering the clay, opening it up, pulling up the walls, and collaring in the neck of the pot. Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain.
Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7.
I have an amazing and intimate relationship with you. The rest of creation I spoke into being, but not so with you, I formed you in My image with My own hands. You are truly the work of My hands, you are My artistry, you are My masterpiece of all I made. Every other work of creation is the backdrop for you who are at the center of the stage. Like the clay on the potter’s wheel, I centered you in the center of all.
I fashioned all of your inner and outer parts. Your bones, your blood, your blood vessels, your heart, your lungs, your skin, your eyes, your ears—all your organs and body systems. You are wonderfully made.
And I know how to fix every part of you, how to restore, repair, reshape, and remake every part of your being—spirit, soul, and body. Offer your bodies to Me and I can make them new. I can put you back on the potter’s wheel to restore and reshape the image distorted and corrupted by sin back into My image and according to My likeness.
Do you recall how Jesus gave new eyes to the man born blind? He spit on the ground and made clay and put it on the man’s eyes. And He said that was His work, do undo the works of the devil—to make you into a new creation in Him.
And do not be surprised at fiery trials that you and all believers are undergoing, just as clay vessels are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form, you will come out of the furnace not even smelling like smoke but stronger than before and fully clothed for a whole new level of existence.
For just as when Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire for refusing to worship any god but Me, a fourth man, one from Heaven in the appearance of the Son of Man, came to walk in the furnace with them so that they were unharmed by the fire but came out better, stronger and promoted to more responsibility as a witness to My loving care for those who are My handiwork, and so will you. Daniel 3:19-30. And do you recall what they did the whole time they were in the furnace? They sang praise and thanks unto Me, their Maker. Daniel 3:24-90 (NRSCE).
And whenever you should sin through the weakness of the flesh, repent and run to Me quickly to confess your sin and apply the blood so I can cleanse you of all unrighteousness and repair all the damage done by the sin and restore you to your place at My table.
I love you. What is the solution to every need, problem and impossible situation you face? Salvation into a new creation. Let Me put you back on the potter’s wheel to center you again in Me, the LORD your Maker, who loves you beyond all your vessel can contain, it will have to overflow.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10.