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It is humbling to be compared to a clay pot. Not gold, not iron, not marble, just clay. Fragile, ordinary, easily chipped. That’s how Scripture describes us.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”
The treasure Paul is talking about is the life of Jesus, the glory of God shining within us. But God didn’t choose to put that treasure in something polished and unbreakable. He put it in clay. He put it in us. Weak, emotional, often afraid, sometimes full of doubt. Why? So that when the light shines, everyone knows where it really comes from.
But we get upset when the cracks appear. We ask, “Why did God let this happen? Why did He allow me to be hurt?” We think the breaking means He’s against us. But it isn’t God breaking us. It’s the world, sin, and Satan doing what they do, trying to destroy. Yet in His mercy, God steps in and says, “I can use even this. I can shine through what they meant for evil.”
The pot doesn’t have to be perfect for the treasure to shine. In fact, it’s often the cracks that let the light out. The Holy Spirit’s perfection shines through our imperfection. Our failures and weaknesses highlight His holiness and power.
When Gideon fought the Midianites, he told his men to hide their torches inside clay jars. When the jars were broken, the light burst out, and the enemy ran in fear. The breaking was the moment of victory.
That’s how God works. Do not blame God for all the hurt. Our Father doesn’t cause the hurt, but He refuses to waste it. The world may have crushed you, or tried to. People may have betrayed you. The enemy, the Adversary, the Slanderer, the Divider, Satan, may have wanted to destroy you. Yet somehow, through all of that, God still says, “I can make this shine for My glory.”
“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”
Those aren’t the words of a man living an easy life. They are the words of someone who’s been beaten, betrayed, shipwrecked, and left for dead, and yet still believes God’s power shines through weakness. Paul experienced what you experience, but shows us how to view it.
“For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you.”
That’s grace. That's how God turns our wounds into windows for His glory. God shows His power as He works through our brokenness. The story really isn’t about me but Him.
I think of the times when life hit me hard, false accusations, sickness, and the loss of friends. I didn’t feel strong or holy. I felt broken. Now, I can see that those cracks became the very places where God’s presence and power shone brightest. His strength held when mine didn’t. His love reached people through my story, not because I was whole, but because I wasn’t. God is at work in your life. You are not alone, and nothing will be wasted, but all will be used for His glory.
God doesn’t enjoy seeing His children hurt. But He takes joy in redeeming what was meant for evil. He turns what was meant for evil into something good. Every scar can become a story of His faithfulness. Every fracture can become a frame for His light. He picks us up in our hurt and whispers, " Don’t worry, even this will be used to show my glory.
Maybe today you feel like a pot that’s been dropped one too many times. You’ve been hurt, betrayed, or worn thin by disappointment. No matter how much you have been hurt and no matter how many doubts flood your soul as you wonder if God can still use someone as cracked as you. He can. He does. He will.
The clay doesn’t make the treasure less valuable. The treasure makes the clay worthwhile.
Stop pretending to be unbreakable; just be willing for God to work. The light that once filled you still lives in you. He will never leave you or forsake you. And the world doesn’t need a perfect jar. It needs to see the treasure inside you. You are, but a clay pot, but the light and glory that shines in, out, and through you is the grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father.
So when you feel cracked, don’t despair. Let the light through. Because the more broken the vessel, the brighter His glory shines.
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