Jeremiah
18:6
O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done?
says the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter's hand, so are
you in my hand, O house of Israel.
To
Be Used by God
I
love the hymn “Spirit of the Living God,” penned by Presbyterian
minister Daniel Iverson in 1926. The quiet plea, the measured
cadence, the direct address of this hymn says it all. “Spirit of
the Living God, Fall afresh on me!” A mantra in its simplicity,
with a haunting melody that seems to wait, poised on Bb,
for God to breathe.
Iverson
doubtless knew the older hymn “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” by
Adelaide A. Pollard (1907), another old favorite from my childhood.
Iverson’s
rising prayer “Melt me, mold me, Fill me, use me,” echoes
Pollard’s “Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Thou
art the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me after Thy will,
while I am waiting, yielded and still. Power, all power, surely is
Thine! Touch me and heal me, Savior divine. Have Thine own way,
Lord! Have Thine own way! Hold o’er my being absolute sway! Fill
with Thy Spirit ’till all shall see Christ only, always, living in
me.”
Once
again I am reminded it is God’s will, not mine. I need to be
still, to wait, to yield. I need to let God hold me in God’s hand
as a potter does the clay. What shape will I take? How will I be
used by God? Only God knows.
Thank
you, God, for creating us new each day, forgiven and empowered by you
to do your will. Send your Spirit to guide us. Amen.
Diane
Falconer
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