Embracing Change

Jeanne Stewart, Oklahoma

 

     One of my favorite books illustrating a spiritual truth is an allegory by Hannah Hurnard, ‘Hinds Feet on High Places.’  It is a story about a journey to the high places from the valleys of life’s weaknesses and overcoming difficulties by surrendering the will and desiring to change. Developing a trusting heart, the traveler one day finds herself standing on the high places of the mountains, made completely new through change and belief for something more.

 

     One of my favorite prophets of God speaking spiritual truth is Jeremiah. The heartbroken prophet speaks a heartbreaking message to a stiff-necked people of Judah as verse 10 of chapter one proclaims, ‘… to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.’ Jeremiah was to do two things when he spoke the words of the Lord, one negative and one positive: tearing down (negative words) and building again (positive words). In chapter 18 the Lord told the prophet to go down to the potter’s house and there he was to hear the Lord’s words. What Jeremiah saw there was the potter seated at his wheel making a vessel. The word tells us in verse 4, ‘… the 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.’

 

     It seems what the Lord was going to say to Jeremiah came with seeing as well as hearing – a multi-dimensional presentation of truth. Notice that Revelation 1:3 declares to us, ‘…Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy...’  What God was telling Jeremiah to speak forth to Judah was this, ‘… can I not do with you as this potter? Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand…’ (vs. 6) God has both an unquestionable authority and an overwhelming ability to form and fashion us as He pleases, so as to serve His own purposes. What changes us is His flowing through us with His power and authority in a greater way as we become as clay in His mighty hands. In this process, we allow Him to destroy those things in us of flesh so He can make us again stronger in spirit.

 

     The pressure of the potter’s hands upon the marred clay is what changes the shape of the vessel. For whatever reason, the clay was marred but it could be corrected by the firm positioning of the potter’s fingers or hand. The readiness of the clay to stay on the wheel to be formed makes a big difference in the shaping. Looking at the spiritual truth in this word picture, God was having Jeremiah watch and learn by hearing. In the same way, we see our heavenly Father asking us today the same question, ‘…can I not do with you today?’

 

     There are areas in our lives today that have been marred by the sin nature in and around us. We are blemished and flawed because we allow faithlessness to the reading and hearing of His word to enter our hearts. When we neglect the washing of the word and the ways of our God as the most essential part of our repentance, then God’s firm hand of pressure must come and ‘…heal our backsliding’ (Jeremiah 3:22).

 

     The embracing hands of change our Father God has upon our hearts bring a holy transformation. Refusing to comply with God’s invitation to change, even though it is intended for our own benefit, keeps us always searching for things that can not fulfill our longing to be more than we are for His purpose. Just as Isaac was bound on the altar by his father trusting in Almighty God to provide the perfect sacrifice, Abraham did not withhold his only son. We must go to such an extreme by staying on the potter’s wheel, allowing our Father’s perfect molding hand of correction to alter us.

 

     Let us bare our hearts and embrace change and journey from the valleys to the high places as we set our hearts on Christ Jesus and the truth of His word. Holding close to our Master’s hands that fashion our hearts, we eagerly embrace change, for He never has to bind us to hold us down. We come to Him willingly.