How can clay be strong enough to hold water back? I remember going to look for clay when I was a boy. We would find it in layers by the banks of a small stream that we called a branch. It would be oozing with water and the water that came down the creek bed would often wash part of the clay away. Clay just cannot hold its own in the face of water. But there is a way that it can hold gallons of water and perfectly contain it. It can be shaped and molded into a vessel by the potter. But it will not be useful and it will not hold water until it has been placed into the fire. God has been molding you and you may have even submitted yourselves to the hand of the potter, but we draw back in horror at the idea of going into the fire. What we learn is that fire not only refines us but its burning puts us into usable shape. Fire tells us that the master potter is about to put us to new and better use. We can hold a stable shape when we are submissive to the fire.
Father, grant us your refining fire so that we may be a usable vessel at Your disposal. Amen!
