Latest / Jo Watson: Unfiltered Faith / "The Potter does His best work in the mess you're trying to escape"
Transcript
- The Potter Does His Best work in Mess: Welcome back to Unfiltered Faith. I'm Joe Watson, and it's time to breathe. Time to slow down. Time to let your shoulders drop, and time to step into the sanctuary. Not the sanctuary we're all so familiar with, but the one that God is building inside you. Today, we're stepping into a word that meets you in the real places. The places where life feels heavy, unclear, uncomfortable, and inconvenient. Because here's the truth: the mud you feel like you're in right now is not the end of you. The mud is the making of you. Romans chapter five verse three through four tells us suffering produces perseverance. Perseverance character and character hope. This is not just poetic language, this is spiritual reality. Because you see, God does his deepest forming in the places we never choose. The places we call. The mud. Before we go any further, I want to bring you into a picture, a biblical image that has carried generations through their hardest seasons. The image of the potter and the clay. Scripture passages like Isaiah chapter forty five verse nine, Isaiah chapter sixty four verse eight. Jeremiah chapter eighteen verse six and Romans chapter nine verses twenty through twenty one call God the potter and we are the clay. But here's the part we don't often talk about. Clay cannot be shaped by the potter when it is dry. It can only be shaped when it is softened. When it has yielded, when it has been touched by water. And many of you listening today, you're in that softened place. Not because you wanted to be, but because life pressed you there, because grief pressed you there, because disappointment pressed you there, because waiting. impressed you there. But hear me, the storm in your life did not soften you to destroy you, it softened you so the potter could finally shape you. So let's step deeper into this message, not as spectators, but as clay, clay in the hands of God. Child of God, the mud you're standing in right now is not a sign of failure. It is a sign of formation. In the scriptures we see Joseph's character was shaped in a pit and a prison. Moses' humility was shaped in forty years of obscurity. And Paul's compassion was shaped in the breaking he himself endured. The mud. The mud for them was not punishment, it was preparation. Just like the mud for you is not punishment, it is preparation. The Spirit of the Lord is saying, I am not standing back with you. Watching the storm work on you, my hands are on you right now. I am forming something that could not have been formed any other way. You see, you may not see the shape yet. Clay never does, but the potter, the God who holds you in the palm of his hands, he sees all. Isaiah chapter sixty four verse eight declares We are the clay, you are the potter, we are all the work of your hand. God is not improvising with your life, He is crafting your life with intention. So hear me when I say You will not come out of this season bitter. You will come out built. You will not come out hardened. You will come out holy. You will not come out broken. You will come out shaped. And the hope that God is forming in you will be stronger than the storm that tried to break you. First Peter chapter 5, verse 10 promises. After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. This is not the end of your story. This is the forming of your story. I want to stop here and pray for every listener who is struggling. With where they are in their life, who feel as though the mess they are in is bigger than they can have. Let's pray. Father, today, we choose to be clay in your hands, not resistant, not hardened, not closed, but soft enough for you to work with. We don't always understand the shaping, but we trust you, the potter, to make something in us that could not have been made in any other way. Don't waste the mud, transform it, and let the beauty you're forming testify of your faithfulness. In Jesus' name. Amen. If you're listening today and you don't know Jesus, or you've been far from him, or you've been trying to navigate life without the potter's hands shaping you, this is your moment. Jesus is not waiting for you to be clean. He meets you in the mud. He saves. He restores. He shapes. He heals. So if you want to give your life to Christ, then pray this prayer with me. Jesus, I give you my life. Shape me. Heal me. Forgive me. I surrender to you, the potter who knows my design. I receive your salvation today. Amen. If you prayed that prayer, I want you to find a church, a community of believers where you can grow and learn and be surrounded by people who will walk with you as God forms your life. And if you need help finding one, just drop us a note and we'll help you locate a church near you. Family, this is Unfiltered Faith. We don't suffer in silence here. I want you to share in the comments your testimony. What has God formed in you through a hard season? Your hope. What are you believing God to shape next? Your prayer request. Where do you need the potter's hand right now? Your testimony strengthens someone else's endurance. Your story becomes someone else's hope. So, family, hold on. Not because the mud is comfortable, but because the potter is faithful. He is forming something in you. That has your name on it. And when the shaping is done, you will say, this was worth it. And if you are carrying a weight that feels too heavy to hold, please remember that this podcast is not a substitute for professional therapy or pastoral care. Reach out. Get the support you need. You deserve that kind of care. And if you would like to send in a question or share a story with Unfiltered Faith, you can reach us at Joe at Unfiltered Faithpod.com. We would love to hear from you. Your testimonies and your experiences matter. They help others grow, they encourage weary hearts, and they draw people closer to Jesus. Until next time, family, unfiltered faith, God is moving, so stay ready and to God be the glory.