By the Rev. Mike Wilcox

Compile a canvas, paints, and brushes and see how much you can get out of them.

Now, take that group of things and put them in the hands of a master painter.

Let him put all the colors where he sees fit. Then see what you can get from the same pile.

We have two top pianists in our church. They sit at the piano and put their fingers on all the keys at the right time and work the pedals just right and I love to sit and listen to them play.

Now, if I was to sit there and let my fingers go to town many people would ask me never to do that again.

Jeremiah 18:1-6 (NKJV) “ The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: ‘Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?’ says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!

We have heard this story so many times I think we often miss it. We wonder why so many things go wrong in our life. Sometimes we honestly look to see if there is sin in our life. Many times we find no active sin, so why aren’t things going better. A mature Christian knows that bad things can happen to Godly people, just look at Job.

Too often I am afraid we never check to see if we are letting the Master Potter make of us what He wants us to be.

I believe we need more Christians to pray, make me what You would have me to be.

We sing it, “not my will but thy will, not my will but thine, not my will but thy will be done Lord in me”. And then we won’t go where He leads us. We won’t give what He asks us. Thy will means we let Him lead us, we don’t tell Him where we are going and demand His blessings. So I ask us all, let’s not pray God’s will be done unless we are going to be lead.

 

-The Rev. Mike Wilcox is a member of the Andalusia Ministerial Association.