Beloved, our word is have. The definition is to possess, own, or hold. Or to experience, undergo. We all have things. Have is not in the Bible per se. Daily we experience joy, peace, grief, and pain.
My friend Karen, working in her front yard moving a sprinkler, recently fell and broke her right leg. My heart breaks when any one of us suffers from pain. Will you join me in praying for her as she recovers? She is facing more surgery and yet remains optimistic.
The word have brings to mind do you have enough resources. In order to get home from the hospital, she needed some equipment. So often, we replenish our groceries, bank accounts, or credit scores by paying a bill, but what about our spiritual bank account?
It brings to mind the song “Have Thine Own Way.”
- 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. - Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence, humbly I bow. - Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
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.
Jeremiah 18:3-6 sets the scene for this hymn:
“Then I went down to the Potter’s house, behold. He wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the Potter: so he made another vessel again, which seemed good to the Potter to make it. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this Potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the Potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.” (KJV)
Isaiah 64:8
But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our Potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.
Thoughts
Daily we can serve the Lord with gladness. We can pray and read God’s Word. For greater than two years, no one saw our smiles. We are relatively mask free now, and we can smile for Jesus. What is the reason for your hope?
We can fold under the pressure of pain or give our day to the Lord.
The clay cannot be molded without being on the Potter’s wheel. Daily, we have to go through the day, and we can do it victoriously, honoring God or complaining. So many are unheard, unseen, and unloved. What can you do to make a difference in one person’s life? Write a note? Buy a meal? Smile? Say a prayer?
Will you remember to pray for my friend Karen?
Prayer
Father God,
Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way. You are the Potter, and I am the clay. Mold me, Lord. I pray for Karen that her pain be less each day. Lord, I pray for her safety as she visits the doctor on Monday. I pray for wisdom for the doctor and a surgery date. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
