Psalm 103v14, “For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”

Job 34v14-15, “If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, all humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.”

Isaiah 40v12, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?”

Psalm 102 v13-18, “You will rise up and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show her favor — the appointed time has come. For Your servants delight in her stones and take pity on her dust. So the nations will fear the name of the LORD, and all the kings of the earth will fear Your glory. For the LORD will rebuild Zion; He has appeared in His glory. He will turn toward the prayer of the destitute; He will not despise their prayer. Let this be written for the generation to come, so that a people not yet created may praise the LORD.”

Isaiah 64v8, “Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”

Isaiah 29v16, “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’?”

2 Corinthians 4v7, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Psalm 138v8, “The Lord will vindicate me; your love, Lord, endures forever — do not abandon the works of your hands.”

Jeremiah 18v1-5, “The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.”

So, I’ve learned a valuable lesson as I’ve gone through the course of dating and life in general, and I wanted to share the above with you to break it down.

As we were made out of dust, the analogy of pottery is so perfect to describe the process of going through the ups and downs, the things that break us and shape us, and us not knowing what the plan is for the dust of our lives and the pieces that we feel we often have to pick up. So much of our human experience feels independent, insignificant, and shattered when we try to look at the pieces and make sense of the mess. But little do we realize, as the Lord made us from the dust of the earth, the Lord himself carries the dust of the earth in a basket. The Lord himself ordained that even the dust of Zion would be rejoiced over, have compassion from the Lord over it, and the Lord would rebuild. It’s easy for us to look at God with our plans, and we think, “THIS is how I think it ought to be.” But, if we, the lump of clay, look at God with our plans and think our plans are better than his, we miss out on something extraordinary he might create. We miss out on the truth that God has not abandoned the beautiful thing he shaped, and he can continue to make and remake us into the image he designs if we do not “turn things upside down.” We have the freedom to disallow or acknowledge that he alone can “vindicate” the way he shapes and finds us when we’re in his hands being formed. What does the Psalmist mean by vindicate? Vindicate is another word for justify. In this, I see that in God’s hands, there are no accidents, there is intentionality, and he bears the accountability and responsibility for shaping his works when those works are pliable and are submitted to his works being shaped for his glory.

This is a beautiful reminder that no part of your story is meant to be forgotten, untouched, of left unredeemed, and that God intends to use every part of you for something in his telling of his grace and glory on Earth. Every experience, every choice, every broken or unbroken piece is still in the process of shaping and refining. And, God holds you whether you’re dust right now or you’re the whole pot. If you ever feel discouraged, ask the Lord to carry the weight you’ve tried carrying on your own. In that, you can begin to release more of your broken pieces to the God who has always held the plants. We can’t always make sense of what he’s doing with us at the moment, but listen, you can’t see a frosted cake when it’s just some unbaked batter in a bowl, either!

One more wild thing about pottery that I’ve probably already shared somewhere here before: When a piece of pottery breaks, potters will grind down the broken bits of clay into new dust. They call this “grog.” They insert that whetted, ground grog into new clay for new pottery pieces, so the process of making and remaking is a constant in the life of broken pottery. But even more, this “grog” has a wild effect on the outcome of the new pottery made with it woven in — the pot can withstand hotter firing temperatures, larger extremes of heat and chill stress after use, it is stronger than pottery only made with new clay, and it also has a color and pattern variation that can only be achieved by this “grog” mixing in with the new. What am I getting at? Your remaking has wildly beautiful and refining outcomes, and there is purpose in the breaking and remaking. This is revealed in 1 Peter 1v6-9, which as pottery is fired to complete, so our faith is refined to reveal the glory of Christ. It says, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

I hope you know that everything you’re walking through today can be in his hands, even if you haven’t trusted that already. God’s more aware than we are of the ability to look back and say “you know nothing,” but he never leaves or forsakes us. Deuteronomy 31v8 says, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” And if you struggle with that, try turning over a piece of your brokenness in prayer. Little by little, you’ll see he’s carried you all along. You might even start to see his masterpiece in the making.

And if you remember one thing from all the above, remember this, Ecclesiastes 3v11, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” And tell yourself this daily, Psalm 116v7 says, “Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.”