Isaiah 64 Devotional

Clay in the Potter's Hands

“But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.”Isaiah 64:8 (BSB)

The prayer in chapter 64 begins with a longing many believers know: for God to tear the sky open and come down, so that the nations tremble (64:1-2). He has done awesome things before, and no other god acts on behalf of those who wait for him (64:3-4).

But the prayer soon turns inward, in honest confession. They have sinned, and they wonder how they can be saved (64:5). Every one of them has become unclean, and even their righteous acts are like soiled cloth (64:6). No one calls on God or tries to take hold of him (64:7). Then the prayer turns. God is their Father; they are the clay and he is the potter, and they are all the work of his hand (64:8). Paul writes that God saved us not because of righteous deeds we had done but because of his mercy (Titus 3:5). When your best efforts look stained, the way forward is to place yourself in the hands of the Potter who made you.

To think about: What would it look like to come to God today on the basis of his mercy rather than your best efforts?