When Just Being a Vessel Isn’t Enough

“Then the word of the LORD came to me. He said, ‘Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?’ declares the LORD, ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand'” (Jer. 18:5-6).

God wants to reshape us into vessels that will hold more of His glory. He wants us to understand how different life can be when we are filled and poured out again and again.

For 26 years, we were a missionary couple, doing our best to serve the people around us. We thought we were doing it right. As we labored and worked and toiled for the Lord, getting more and more burned out, we honestly thought that was how it would always be. Looking back now, I now know we were bound to a false belief system that said, “If I’m working for God, I have to be cracked and dry, pushed to the edge and always miserable.” It’s a lie, but it’s how we lived for years.

That was, until God broke in, pouring His sweet Holy Spirit into us. He reshaped us on His potter’s wheel, lovingly reworking us so our hearts overflowed with life and energy and love and power. We understood for the first time how the love of the Lord completely transforms a life so that it becomes like His own. We began to see miracles and signs and wonders, and our love and compassion increased. It was as though someone had switched on a huge light, and we would never be in the dark again.

Now we are compelled to love those we serve through a love for God that never runs dry. Why? It is His Holy Spirit who fills our jars of clay, and all we do comes from Him. We know the love of God lives in us, not because we deserve it, not because we are better than anyone else, but because of His beautiful Holy Spirit. As we have let Him reshape us—moving away from thinking it’s all about us to letting it be all about Him—His presence in and around us has multiplied.

Our cry is now, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).

Heidi and Rolland Baker are a husband-and-wife missionary team who have followed God’s call across the globe in answering the Great Commission. They are co-authors of Reckless Devotion, from which this article is adapted.