In His Hands
This post is not for everyone. It’s important for you to take this back to the Lord and confirm with Him that this is for you. Not every word is meant to be applied to your life in the immediate moment. If you are receiving this in season it should not be the first time you are hearing about it. If the Lord has not been speaking to you about this already, take the wisdom and knowledge as a form of learning the ways of the Lord that you might choose to walk in them. If this is for you it should serve as confirmation and give you understanding. Glory be to God!
For today’s Bible Study the Lord led me to various places in the Word where He is compared to a potter and we are compared to the clay and He paired it with a section about the prophecy the angel Gabriel spoke to Zechariah about his son John the Baptist. I encourage you to read through this blog post and if you feel led to do some studying of your own— you can find further context in these sections:
Isaiah 45– a chapter with the Lord himself addressing a “chosen one”, Cyrus. Isaiah 29:16/Jeremiah 19:2-6: Multiple places in the Bible convicting those Chosen for purpose “the clay” for rebelling against the Creator “the potter”. Romans 9:20-24: A section where Paul explains how God created all of us for His purpose and we do not get to decide who receives what purpose. That He creates all of us and its within His desires not ours. Reminding us that each creation is loved equally and preselected for its fate; we are not in control. Luke 1:8-17, 3:2-20 The angel Gabriel speaking to Zechariah of his future child, John the Baptist as well as John coming into His anointing and walking it out. John the Baptist is the perfect example of a human, born to aid the spirit of the living God through obedience and sacrifice. John the Baptist paves the way for Christ. Isaiah 63:15-19, 64 The prayer for mercy and grace when realizing who God is as the Creator and who you are as the clay.
Glory be to God and I hope you enjoy what the Holy Spirit revealed to me over this last week about what it means to be fully surrendered in the hands of God.
A long time ago the Lord told me that I would help Him speak to His “chosen ones” and at the time I didn’t understand what that meant. I had believed that everyone was the same but my understanding was skewed. Yes, everyone is LOVED by God. He created us all and loves us dearly— but it is also true that few are chosen. (Matthew 22:14). Last week I was in a local crafting space called, “Color Me Mine” with a friend and as we were very carefully painting our chosen ceramic canvases I kept hearing “the potter and the clay”, over and over in my head and so— I looked into it and the Lord started speaking to me about something I had experienced before but lacked words to express. He showed me why His “chosen” are often broken down. Let’s get into it.
“A potter manipulates clay on a spinning wheel using centrifugal force and their own control to shape the clay into the desired form”; or at least that’s what google said. I pictured in my mind a potter with a big slab of clay on the wheel. He knew what it looked like from the beginning. He also knew what it would become. As he begins his work, he adds water to the clay to make it more moldable and a rhythm begins. I imagine throughout the entire process, the potter loves the clay. He wouldn’t have the desired outcome if it hadn’t started the way it did. All the clay is responsible for is naturally responding to the pressure of the potters hands in the positions he chooses. It has no control. Fully surrendered to the hands of the creator. “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ (Isaiah 45:9-10) The wheel spins and the potter applies pressure intentionally to create the shape intended for a purpose. Are you surrendered to it or are you the rebellious clay? How are you responding to your convictions? Do they cause you to change and transform according to the will of God or are you fighting to hold on to the friendships, habits and mindsets that keep you outside of it?
I remember when God was calling me to Him. I was living fully emerged in a life of sin. I was partying every weekend and working as a bartender and server with multiple immoral side hustles. I had just been emotionally wounded by multiple people close to me and it felt like I couldn’t catch a break. These series of events led me to dropping to my knees and asking God, “WHY?” more specifically I cried out to Him and said, “I don’t understand, help me understand.” I started hearing the voice of God soon after that moment and He gave me a pretty clear command that I needed to “cleanse my space” that I was “chosen” and I was not living how I needed to be living. He told me something had been “stolen” from me. I didn’t understand right away. All I knew was my spirit was broken and my Father heard my cry— but for a season, I continued to try to go out and be who I had been before I started to hear from Him. I could throw back beers and shots like no other. I was the party. God never convicted me before about it and I had been living this way for so long, I had no idea why all of a sudden I could only drink one drink and blackout. My body literally started responding to the sin in my life differently than it had before. I started to read my Bible and draw near to the Lord and He started to reveal to me what I had been doing all along that had kept me separated from Him. He showed me myself. He applied pressure and He insisted that I grow. The entire time that I was falling in love with the way that my Father loved me, I was also realizing how wicked I had been. He broke me down until I heard His voice louder than any other voice in the world. He broke me down until I was fully surrendered to being rebuilt the way He had intended. Just like He taught Jeremiah that day He sent him into the potters shop, “the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.” And, “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to this clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand; so are you in my hand.” (Jeremiah 19:2-6)
My unwillingness to change when God was calling me did not stop me from being chosen. It made my process harder. I spent a lot of nights curled up in a ball crying due to the consequences of my own actions. I spent even more nights upset because I was the only one out of everyone around me that was rejecting all of the “fun” things we used to bond over. Why me and not them? How come I get deeply depressed every time I go out now? Why can’t I just do it “one time” every other weekend like all the rest of the girls in the club? Romans 9:20-21says, “Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?” When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have the right to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?” The commands God is giving you to clear out your vessel of toxins is because He made you as an example, not a trash can. Both serve their purposes. Be humble enough to know that each were created out of love. Verse 22-23 goes on to say, “In the same way even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction, He does this to make the riches of His glory shine even brighter on those He shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.” While it’s true there are others who get to skip the conviction or crushing, it’s also true that the Lord disciplines those whom He loves. People who have yet to receive Him, are not disciplined by Him, but they are also not free. He chastises every son, or daughter, whom He receives. (Hebrews 12:5-6)
Now this is where the Lord blew my mind even further. If you’ve been rocking with me for a while now this was one of those moments where my jaw dropped and the Holy Spirit revealed to me something that had been right in front of my face. Let those with ears to hear, hear. The angel Gabriel came to Zechariah and said to him, “Don’t be afraid Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife Elizabeth will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before His birth. And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of Fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.” (Luke 1:13-17) Before John was born, his parents were given instruction on how he was meant to be raised according to the purpose and plan for the Lord and in order for this to be carried out obedience was required. Later in Luke 3:2-3 we see John receive the message he was meant to deliver while living in the wilderness. The call on his life was not created while he was in the wilderness, that existed before he was even born. I hope you’re following. The anointing existed before the vessel did. Our ability to receive it depends on our willingness to become the vessel necessary to carry it. John was commanded to sobriety before birth. He was lucky to have obedient parents who were able to raise him in the way he should go. How many of us can say the same? He had no idea how or when the Lord would give him his cue to carry out the prophecy on His life but until that time came he remained obedient and in the wilderness waiting on the Lord. Standing in agreement with what was spoken over his life. John the Baptist paved the way for the Lord, Jesus Christ, to fulfill His purpose here on earth? His message was repentance, maybe mine was spiritual hygiene, what is yours? You’re here so it’s safe to say you are willing but are you coachable? How do you receive corrections? Are you willing to obey commands of the Lord that don’t make sense to you? Do you know that the state of your vessel determines your ability to carry out His will?
Eventually I gave up the things I was being asked to let go of with the understanding that it was not because anyone was greater than another or loved more by God but because I had been chosen for a purpose that I couldn’t even begin to understand until I surrendered fully. I say that to say this, you will not reach the fullness of what God has for you until you are willing to give up what you made for yourself. You were not just born, you were created. Be created. Come into the agreement that the struggle you’re having to fit in to the places you used to fit into is because you’re being called higher. Get serious about your spiritual hygiene. Learn who you are and what your message is. Master the wilderness. Receive the wisdom and most importantly— repent. Repent for trying to stay where you didn’t belong. It was rebellion. Full understanding and repentance is necessary. The God that created you for a purpose deserves to be respected as the potter and your Father. Isaiah 63:15-19-64 is a prayer for mercy and grace that I encourage all of you to read but 64:8-9 says, “And yet, O’ Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the Potter. We are all formed by your hand. Don’t be so angry with us, Lord. Please don’t remember the our sins forever. Look at us as we pray, and see that we are all Your people.”.
And so I leave you with a prayer of repentance that I pray blesses your spirit and helps you draw near to the Lord.
*Heavenly Father, thank You that You are a God of mercy and grace. Father I repent for my past of rebellion when I thought I knew better than You. I am grateful for Your correction and molding and choose to surrender to the process of being built into the vessel You need me to be in order to anchor in Your will for my life. God I pray You teach me and guide me in the way I should go. It says in Your Word God that You know the plans You have for me and I thank You for giving me a heart to obey for Your purpose and according to Your plan. I respect who You are and trust my life in Your hands. Lead me. I love You and praise You in Jesus mighty name. Amen and Amen.*
I love you guys. Keep going. My Ebook, “Let’s Talk About Spiritual Hygiene” is available in my shop and if you’re a woman looking for 1:1 mentorship through the wilderness my schedule has open bookings for next week. Glory be to God for all that was, is and is to come. You are not alone.
Until next time,
Ari
