Fire and water

On New Year's Eve, I was standing in the choir loft at church singing praise to God, something I do nearly every Sunday. In the midst of this time God impressed upon me the idea of a kiln. When I say impressed it was a "remember this" kind of moment. God wasn't finished. Over the next 2-3 weeks He repeatedly brought up the topics of trial, temptation and loss, things I tend to associate with bad times. I was quite distressed, waiting for some catastrophe to happen.

Then I did some research. To make an earthenware vessel solid you must put it into the kiln, allow it to be slowly heated to extremely high temperatures and cool just as slowly. Heat or cool it too quickly you will crack or even break the vessel. I found that different materials "mature" at different temperatures. So, if you don't get the heat high enough, the pot will not mature. If you get it too hot, the pot will melt. So far we have a mature vessel.

But a mature pot will not hold water. Clay is by nature porous. It will leak if it is not also glazed. How to you glaze a pot? You coat it with a different clay and put it back into the kiln. Remember, clay will melt when it gets too hot. A glaze is simply a clay that melts at a temperature lower than that of the vessel. As it melts it becomes glassy, covering the pores of the vessel and making it waterproof.

To be a vessel that will hold Living Water I need to be matured. This takes time and may be unpleasant. Hebrews tells us discipline is not pleasant at the time but is necessary and will later be sweet when we are mature. I need to be glazed, too. I must pass through the furnace again to become a vessel He can fully use.

I have to tell you I am not one who likes trial. I would rather read about someone else's difficulties than to learn from my own. But, if I won't allow God to put me in His kiln (remain unfired) or won't stay long enough (under-fired) or choose to yield to temptation repeatedly (too hot) or by my own stubbornness insist on leaving before He dictates (cool too quickly) then I will be less than what the Potter determined for me to be. And if I am not willing to return to the kiln, I'll not be able to carry Living Water to those who need to drink.

God still has not finished speaking to me about the kiln. One thing I missed in my worry about what "might" happen was His assurance that His grace is sufficient for my every need. I suspect that was His point all along. Whether I am in the kiln or waiting on a shelf or in His hand fulfilling the purpose for which He made me, I am His. He may do with me as He chooses. He will not put on me more than I can bear. He will not leave me longer than is necessary. In all things He will never leave me or forsake me.

That is the message from the kiln.

JayLee