On Being Clay

“The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.”  Psalm 138:8

i love this verse.  It is a text that i return to with some regularity because it so succinctly captures the nature of God and His resolute commitment to His people.  Today, this little verse, and those that surround it in context, has once again righted my thinking and helped me to pray.   

On my mind today is not my own story, but the story lines of others that i love.  When our children were small, their little lives were marked by scrapes and bruises, broken toys and hurt feelings but we were mostly able to fix their stuff, brush off their wounds and move on to the next adventure.  Things aren’t so easy to mend anymore and people’s lives are full of insurmountable hardship. 

 

At least it seems so.

i find myself wondering why God allows His children to struggle,

      to be lonely,

           to have disappointment,

                  to be fearful for the future.  

 

i want to help, but i am powerless for some and feeble, ineffective for others.  i can’t put a Band-Aid on their bruises and what’s broken is mostly not fixable. 

 

Today, that’s been hard.  i have been brooding for most of the day.

Gratefully, from somewhere in my soul the Spirit gently and faithfully instructed my mind with Psalm 138.  These verses have resonated with Truth in my own life, but today the rich theology gives me perspective as i think and pray for brothers and sisters…beloved strugglers. 

 

While there is much that i don’t know, here’s what i hang on to:

The LORD.  The title used here is “Jehovah”.  It means “the unchanging, eternal, self-existent God”, the “I am that I am”, the Covenant-Keeper.  This is God who has all authority, wisdom and power.  The One who keeps all of His promises.

He will fulfill….not “may”, not “could”, not even “should” fulfill.  He will fulfill.  Is there any doubt about His intent?

He will fulfill His purpose for me. This is critical to my thinking.  It gives me hope and a deep sense of security.  He has a purpose for me (and for each of His children).   Seriously.  Just this Truth settles my worry-ridden heart.  He.  Has.  A.  Purpose. For.  Me. 

 But it is HIS purpose.  Emphasis on HIS.  The promise is that He will fulfill HIS purpose.  Not MY purpose for me.  Or, for today, MY purpose for anyone else.  And sometimes that means He puts them in the boat headed for raging wind and pounding waves.*  This Truth puts me gently in my place.  It is the prophets’ “potter and clay” principle:  

 

“But now, O LORD, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter…”   (Isaiah 64:8) 

          “Like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand…” declares the Lord.  (Jeremiah 18:6)

 

The Potter fashions the clay,

     breaks it down

            and fashions it again to form it for HIS OWN PURPOSE. 

                   The clay is…well, just clay. 

The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me.  And for those that i love.  HE is the LORD.  There is a certainty to His plan and a commitment to His purpose.  He will do it.  He has a purpose for each of His children and it is His purpose that will come to pass.  Nothing can or will deter such purpose.

"Your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever."  The Psalmist ends by recalling the deep well of affection from which the Lord’s purpose is drawn --- a steadfast love that began before time and one which has no end.  With such love and commitment, why do i worry?  Who goes about brooding with knowledge like that?
The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.

            And for those that i love.

i can’t fix what’s broken or heal what hurts, but i’m shamelessly clinging to that promise this evening.  It’s the healthy dose of Truth that i needed…and i am forever grateful that the Spirit never tires of reminding me. 
How will i pray for my beloved strugglers?  The psalmist offers a promise and a prayer in verse 3:

"On the day I called, you answered me;
          my strength of soul you increased."

Strength of soul. 
       For bruised lives.  
            For wounded hearts. 
                   For fearful adventurers. 

For me, powerless to help, as i wait and watch and hope.  Strength of soul.  i need that today.

Amen.

 *a truth from my last post that is still ringing in my ears