“Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker — An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?” Isaiah 45:9
I recently received a phone call from a man I have never met. He was angry and confused, and to make a very long story short, he was upset with God. He was tired of all the commands and all the requirements, and was debating a full rebellion. His anger stemmed from what he called hypocrisy. Sure he was angry with hypocritical Christians who preach a message they don’t follow, and why wouldn’t he be. Even Jesus was angry with them (i.e. Pharisees).
But this man’s anger went further than that. He was upset with what he thought was the hypocrisy of God. No, he never actually called God a hypocrite, but the sentiment was easily heard. On one hand he was angry that God required such perfection of him, when (by his estimation) God had done such a lousy job with the world. According to him the world is in shambles, and it is all God’s fault. If God was good, and if God was powerful, then why doesn’t God fix this world? And once again, God seems to be on trial.
But honestly, have you ever felt that way? An unexpected tragedy arises, or you hear a story of oppression and suffering from another country, or you watch as an election goes in a different direction than you think it should go. And somewhere from the depths of your inner being, you question the plan of God.
I have heard one too many Christian counselors lately say that such questioning is absolutely normal. Usually they say something like, “Take your questions, complaints, or frustrations to God, He is big enough to handle them.” Well, that is certainly true, He is big enough to handle them, but does that really give us the right? Isaiah said, “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker — An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?” Paul would say, “On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?” (Romans 9:20)
Let me state it plainly, it is time that you and I realize who we really are. God has known all along. Psalms 103:14 says, “For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.” God knows what we are. We are dirt. He molded and formed us, and placed in us a living spirit, but it does not change what we are. It would be good if you and I realized that again.
Somewhere in the back of our minds, we decided what was right and what was wrong. We decided what was acceptable and what was unacceptable. We decided what should happen and what should not happen. And then when God does something absolutely opposite, we do like Peter and pull Jesus aside to say, “What are you thinking?” (Matthew 16:22) If you will recall, Jesus called Peter “Satan” on that day, because in a moment of arrogance, that is precisely what Peter looked like. Peter wasn’t as smart as Jesus, and Peter didn’t see the big picture like Jesus did, yet in a moment of arrogance, Peter felt confident enough to challenge His plan. And every time we take our grievances to God, we are walking in the exact same arrogance.
Am I saying not to pray? No. Scripture tells us to present our requests to God (Philippians 4:6). In short, God wants to hear your requests, but He never wants to hear your advice. And it is nothing short of arrogance to actually question what He is doing.
To me the world may look like it is in utter chaos. To me it may look like things are falling apart. But what do I know, I am just dirt. It is God who is the potter, it is God who created this whole thing, and He knows what is going on. Furthermore, He has a plan, and what He is doing is absolutely perfect. He doesn’t need some old clay pot like me questioning His will.
Today let me encourage you not to question God or to challenge Him, but rather to trust Him. Never before have I seen a clay pot go to work on the potter. Know today that God is sovereign, and our only job is to be moldable in His hand so that we can be usable in His service.
“Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:6-9
Grace to You,
Bro. Rory
