Monday Morning Memo: Complete Surrender

Snow.  As many of you know, this word can often be considered a swear word in my vocabulary.  I’m just not a fan.  But like it or not…it dumped on us over the past 18 hours and now, as I look out my window, it is a wonderland of white.

 

We don’t always get what we want in life do we.  Circumstances happen…detours suddenly appear in front of us…and what we thought was in our future suddenly changes.  It’s at those times when we realize that our plans must not have been Christ’s plans and we can either fight against them or surrender to them.

 

I often have a feeling as I come to the end of a year, what Christ wants me to focus on for the new year.  But   December 2020 came and true to everything else the past year brought us…I felt nothing.  The entire year hadn’t been in my plans so trying to figure out 2021 seemed next to impossible.  Then, on December 31st, a quote from Corrie Ten Boom hit me between the eyes.  She said, “You see, a potter can only mold the clay when it lies completely in His hand.  It requires complete surrender.”  Wow.  I am a visual learner and I quickly realized that the picture this brought to my mind is what I was supposed to work on this year.

 

I am not one bit artistic…but I can still picture sitting at a potter’s wheel with a clump of clay in front of me.  If I wanted to make a bowl, I would begin by putting the clay in the center of the wheel.  Then, working it with my hands I would begin sculpting it…stretching it…molding it into the shape I desired.  But if that clay had a mind of its own and was able to fight against me…negating every move I made…I can guarantee you that the end product wouldn’t be very usable.  As the potter, I wouldn’t be able to complete the necessary steps to transform the clay into something beautiful.

 

We can chuckle at that, knowing that clay is unable to think, but since we can think…it makes me wonder how we react to our Potter (Christ).  First of all, are we in the center of His “wheel”?  Are we intentional on listening to what He wants for us and then making sure we are smack dab where He wants us?

 

Then, as He begins to sculpt us…stretch us…mold us into something He knows will be usable for His glory and kingdom…are we completely in His hand…allowing Him to have complete control?  We have been given free will to do and react to Christ, and it is our choice whether or not we will allow Him to transform us into something beautiful.  

 

I can say He has complete control of me…but if I’m honest…it doesn’t take much sometimes for me to become anxious and worried about the days ahead…especially after the past year.  But how can I reach others for Him, if I don’t trust Him with my tomorrow?  Others need to see that I am totally surrendered and trust Him completely…so they will want the same thing for their life.  Time is of the essence and it is more important than ever for me to be completely in His hand because if others don’t see Him in me…they may never see Him at all.

 

How about you?  Are you allowing the Potter to have complete control as He molds you into something beautiful?  I sure hope so.  But if you are like me and you have a little work to be done in this area…don’t give up!  I know that He has big plans for you and me…so let’s both jump in the center of His “wheel” and let Him get to work.  Let’s make 2021 the year of complete surrender!  

“And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.

We are the clay, and you are the potter.
We all are formed by your hand.”

Isaiah 64:8