Gò0dNews for Everyone
Returning the Clay
P
by Jacob Chapman
erspective can often be viewed as the hands that
He never misleads you, and He never is self-serving or
shape the clay of our lives. The way we view life is
selfish. He is always working things out for the betterment
often the way the potter is going to shape the clay.
of those who give their lives, their trust, and their love
Our lives are the clay, and our perspectives are the hands that form it. Could that be the reason we so often think
wholly to Him. The truth is, He is enough. He views our lives better
the clay is ugly, disgraceful, and maybe even in shambles?
than we do. If you are tired of being tired and seeing your
Maybe sometimes we look at what the clay has become and
life as a pile of mistakes, ask God to show you the way He
think, “It cannot be right,” “It should not look that way,” or even that “it is just a pile of our mistakes and anxieties.” I would like to offer a new way to look at how we see and shape our lives. This first thing you need to know is, it should not be this way. You should not be shaping the clay. You were never meant to be the potter. This is what Isaiah 64:8 says: “Yet, still Yahweh, you are our father. We are like clay and you are our Potter. Each one of us is the creative, artistic work of your hands” (Isaiah 64:8). We were never supposed to be shaping the way we see our lives. It is time to give your life back to God. It is time to hand the clay back to God; we cannot do it on our own. It is time to give the way you see your life back to God. It is time to start
sees you. If you trust Him, He will take that clay, the mess
seeing our lives the way God sees them and the way He is
you made when you saw your life that way, and He will
shaping them to be. If you are tired of the way you see your
make it a new creation. In fact, this is what the Bible says
life, maybe it is time you ask for a Heavenly Perspective: the
He sees us as: “Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he
way God views your life.
has become an entirely new creation. All that is related to
I think the next thing you need to look at is whether or
the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and
not you are willing to admit that His ways are better than
new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). If you are tired of the way you see
our ways. Even more importantly, His thoughts are better
your life, ask for a Heavenly Perspective and trust God; He
than our thoughts. Once we admit this, we need to declare
is the potter, and He always shapes our lives the way they
that we trust Him. We declare that what He has for us,
were meant to look. It is time to give the clay back.
the way He thinks about us, and the path He has for us is for ourselves. When you trust Him with your life, He will not let go of it. When you trust Him with your emotions,
30 // March 2020
About The Author
better and abundantly more than we could ever imagine
Jacob Chapman is a 16-year-old who is the oldest of six kids in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He has a vision and a heart to see this next generation of Christ-followers be the most influential yet. He loves seeing life as more than a temporary place but instead an opportunity to grow, laugh, and smile every day.
