Sometimes the Scriptures speak circumspectly, in round about ways that slowly melt into understanding. But other times straight up.

Like when the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah:

You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, “You did not make me”? Can the pot say to the potter, “You know nothing”?

How often do I pray, Lord, what are you doing? Why don’t you move slower? Or faster? Or stop already?

It helps me to remember that every comment of mine rises from the pot to the potter. It also encourages me to know that the Lord, our gracious potter, welcomes my honest prayers, my anger and musings and grateful reflections.

But shaking my fist and proclaiming, You did not make me! You know nothing! is simply foolish. The potter shakes his head at such hubris. He patiently waits to see if I’ll move beyond this posture to a deeper understanding of the pot/potter relationship.

Because as much as I might like to twist it around, I remain the pot and the Lord remains the potter.

Isaiah 29 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by SwapnIl Dwivedi