The Process on the Potter’s Wheel
(5 minutes)
Sometimes we can get discouraged that we're not further along, or we're not where we think we should be. There's a beautiful thing that Abba has built into the cosmos and it's called "process." Pastor Tim mentioned on Sunday that "God created everything in six days, but He planted a garden." Abba enjoys the process of growth and seeing something come to maturity, whether it's a seed in the ground or a seed in the womb. He doesn't view our walk with Him as a marathon. It's less about the destination, and more about the dance along the way. Why? Because He enjoys the process, and He wants us to enjoy it, too.
"Every single one of us who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior has instantly been saved from something, but the church has neglected to tell us what we've been saved for. You were designed to be whole. You were designed to have your heart healed. You were designed to have the ashes removed from your head and a bouquet of beauty put on. You were designed to carry joy. You were designed to be planted in the ground where the city has been completely destroyed, and because you get planted by the Lord there you see the city transformed and changed. But this is a process of allowing our hearts to soak in the goodness of God." (Pastor Tim)
In Esther's story, we catch a glimpse of the process. She submits herself to 365 days of daily soaking. This soaking removes the hardness of the heart caused by hardships. This soaking removes the ashes. This soaking removes the distrust and suspicion caused by our being mishandled in the past. This soaking mends the broken places of our hearts. Esther submitted to the process of healing.
The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh saying, "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will make you hear My words." Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he was making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was ruined (marred) in the hand of the potter, so he turned around and made it again, into another vessel, according to what was right in the eyes of the potter to make. (Jeremiah 18:1-4)
Can you see process in the picture of the potter's wheel? There is a remaking of the vessel that's happening on the potter's spinning wheel. As Pastor Tim said, we have become expert avoiders of all spinning, but the most transformation happens to the clay when the wheel is spinning and the potter's hands can reshape and remold the clay into what he desires.
This begs the question: are we enjoying the process like Abba is? He delights in seeing the seed transform into the mighty oak. Are we equally delighted as we walk with Him through that transformation in our own lives? Do we see the spinning as something He's doing for us? Or do we still see the spinning as something we should avoid at all costs?
Let's go deeper with that question. Do we trust that Abba is good? Do we believe that His hands are the safest place we could ever be? Our hesitancy and recoiling away from the process of healing is a witness that there are still areas of the heart that must be convinced that He is pure light, having no trace of darkness in Him. We will only submit to the process of healing when we trust Abba and believe that He only has good for us. Soaking in His goodness is what leads us into transformation.
Beloved One, what step can you take towards trusting Abba today? Allow His goodness to lead you into the healing waters - first to the ankles, then to the knees, up to the waste, until we're completely overtaken by the perfect love of our Father!
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Worship: "I Lose My Ability" by Jonathan David & Melissa Helser
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!
