I recently read the story of Dr. Henry Poppen, one of China’s early missionaries who spent forty years telling its people about the love of Jesus. The One who died to take away our sins.
One day, after Dr. Poppen had finished preaching, a man approached him and said, “We know this Jesus! He’s been here.”
Dr. Poppen tried to explain that Jesus had lived and died long ago, far from China. But the man insisted, “Oh no, He died here. I can show you His grave.”
He led Dr. Poppen to a cemetery outside the city, where an American missionary doctor was buried. On a crumbling gravestone was the name of a man who had given his life to serve the people of that remote Chinese village. When the villagers heard Dr. Poppen describe Jesus, His mercy, love, kindness, and forgiveness; they recognised those same qualities in the missionary doctor.
That story deeply moved me. It reminded me that God will use anyone who is willing to be clay in His hands. Clay doesn’t argue, question, or resist it simply yields to the Potter’s touch.
Henry Blackaby once wrote:
“When God’s assignment demands humility, He finds a servant willing to be humbled. When it requires zeal, He looks for someone He can fill with His Holy Spirit. God uses holy vessels those who allow Him to remove their impurities.”
There’s nothing fancy about being clay. It’s not noble or impressive, and it doesn’t earn applause. But it’s exactly what God is looking for a heart that’s soft enough to shape.
Jeremiah 18:6 — “As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand.”
My Prayer
Lord, today I’m reminded that no matter what I do, I’m not in control.
Right now, I feel so out of control, disappointed, frustrated, and yes, angry. It feels like I’m sabotaging myself, and there’s someone who seems determined to bring me down. They never stop, and somehow, they always seem to get away with it.
You see how it makes me feel, helpless and resentful. My natural instinct is to fight back, to get even, but I know that’s not Your way. So here I am, choosing obedience even when my heart doesn’t feel like it.
Your Word tells me to bless those who persecute me and to pray for them. I won’t pretend that I like them, You know I don’t, but I choose to pray anyway.
Please bless them, Lord. Give them what they need, whatever their hearts are craving, and may Your will be done in their lives.
Help me to stay pliable in Your hands, even when life feels unfair. Mould me, purify me, and keep shaping me until my life reflects more of You. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
Reflection: The Beauty of Yielding
Sometimes the Potter’s work is painful. We don’t always understand why certain people are allowed in our path or why injustice seems to go unchallenged. But clay doesn’t see the masterpiece forming, only the pressure of the Potter’s hands.
If we can stay soft and surrendered, even through frustration and heartache, God will bring beauty from what feels broken. He will shape us into vessels that carry His peace, His kindness, and His strength, the kind of life that quietly reminds others of Jesus, just as that missionary doctor did.
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