The Potter and the Clay

You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it,
“You did not make me”?
Can the pot say to the potter,
“You know nothing”?

Isaiah 29:16 NIV

There is much that happens in this world that I don’t understand. Why can’t people and nations get along? Why does God allow so much suffering and evil to exist? How come evil men seem to prosper while the innocent so often are oppressed?

This verse does not answer my questions. But it does provide a needed perspective for them. Isaiah uses the example of a potter and a lump of clay. The potter and his clay are not the same; they are entirely different in nearly every way. The potter takes the clay and shapes it into whatever he wants it to be. The resultant pot had no say in what it became or the process used to craft it.

God Is the Potter

God is that potter. And I, along with this world and all that is in it, am the lump of clay that He is fashioning. I need to be careful not to think that God is like me, that I can fully understand Him, or that I can judge His actions. He is far beyond my comprehension. My questions remain unanswered. But I can trust that God knows what He is doing and that He has it all under control. Regardless of what is going on in this world or my life, God is the ultimate potter, working to produce His masterpiece.