“Take me, use me, Fill me, lead me, By the Potter’s hand”, the choir was singing lustily from the front of the church. These words made me think of the deeper meaning of them. Perhaps you have sung these words, and really meant what they say without knowing the full implications of them……
“Take me”…. have you stopped to think of all that this means? How much do we really want God to take us for His service? Remember, His service is in serving others around us. What about the times when all we feel like doing is just to kick our shoes off and relax in that lazy-boy chair! The times when we feel like having a day at home rather than go out yet again to help others, to visit an old person in the rest home, or to encourage others in a Bible Study!
“Fill me”….we can only be filled by the Holy Spirit when we empty ourselves of our old nature. There is no room for both the old nature and the new nature to have control of our soul and spirit. It is only as we empty ourselves of our old desires, bitterness, and prejudices, that God will find room to come right into our being.
“Lead me”….once again, how much do we really want to be led by the Lord? He could say, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head”. As He travelled the dusty roads of the land, He was reliant on the goodwill of others to give Him a bed for the night. Many times He spent the whole night in prayer to His Heavenly Father out on a mountain top, meditating and renewing His spirit to continue in His Father’s will.
“By the Potter’s hand”, the choir concluded with a flourish. I looked at those fresh young faces of the singers and wondered if they knew what they were singing, or if any of us know what that means!
We read of the potter seeing a bowl he has made and it is not to his liking so he breaks it and starts all over again. How many of us have gone through bitter experiences and shed tears of grief over broken relationships and disappointing things that have happened! It is often the only way the Lord can get rid of some of the things in our lives that are not pleasing to Him. We have to come to the end of ourselves in these broken times, so we can be re-moulded by the Master Potter to be of better use to Him.