Quarreling with our maker: Is 45:9-10

"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'? Woe to him who says to a father, 'What are you begetting?' or to a woman, 'To what are you giving birth?' " (Isaiah 45:9-10)

Most of us, from time to time, have compared ourselves to others, wishing we could be more like them. We look at others and say to ourselves, "If I could just be smarter, or prettier, or richer like them!" Many people, in their hearts, have a quiet discontent for who God has made them. While they may not say it out loud, then wonder in their heart, "Why did God make me this way? Why couldn't He have made me more like someone else?"

In the original Hebrew, the word for "maker" could also be translated as "fashioner". It speaks of a potter who forms the clay, squeezing it into shape. What is of importance to God is not who we are now, but who we are to be. God is fashioning us to be who He wants us to be. He is fashioning us for His purposes. We may kick and scream and whine through the process, but it is unwise to "quarrel with our maker".

For some, it is discontent for who they are. For others, it is disgruntelment for the things they are going through. Either way, these attitudes are really accusations against our maker. In our heart, we are really expressing anger for who God has made us and what He is bringing us through.

How can we turn this around? We must come to understand two incredible truths. It is God who created us and it is God who is forming us! The person you are, God created for a purpose. Many times, the reason we are unhappy with who we are is because we do not understand the reason why God made us the way we are. Perhaps we should spend more time seeking God to understand the unique purpose for which we have been created instead of trying to become someone else. If we can find the reason why we were created, then we will be able to appreciate anew the person that God has created us to be.

Sometimes, in the process of forming us for His will and purpose, God must send trials and testings our way. It is so easy, in those times, to complain and groan at the pain and difficulty in our lives. But if we would stop long enough to realize that the things that touch our lives to form us are really the hands of our Father who loves us, then we might have a different perspective on our suffering. Consider this, that your present circumstances are really the hands of God working in your life to make you more like Him. Looking back in my life, I can see the hand of God working in my life through some of the most difficult times I had to go through, and this understanding has made those times precious to me.

God is our maker, God is our fashioner. Let us be a peace and trust in the wisdom and grace of God to make us and mold us into who He desires us to be.

David Robison