Xanthe Hancox

 ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Jeremiah 18:2-4

Adelaide Pollard was an American hymn writer with a dream – she wanted to go to Africa as a missionary.  Unfortunately, however, she was unable to raise the funds needed to make the journey. Greatly discouraged, she attended a prayer service one evening and as she sat there, she overheard an elderly woman pray, "It really doesn't matter what you do with us, Lord, just have your own way with our lives".

The words sank in. Adelaide went home and meditated on the old woman's prayer and on the Bible text in Jeremiah 18:3,4. As a result, she wrote a hymn which millions have sung:

Have Thine own way, Lord!

Have Thine own way!

Thou art the potter; I am the clay.

Mold me and make me after Thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Like Adelaide, we so often forget we’re the clay, not the potter. Paul reminds us in Romans 9:20, “A clay pot does not ask the man who made it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” God moulds us, shapes us and forms us into the vessel he wants us to be.  It’s not an easy process. Being moulded and changed into a vessel that can be used for God’s work is painful, but it is necessary.

Shortly before World War I, Adelaide did reach Africa. However, the war forced her to retreat to Scotland. After the fighting was over, she returned to the United States where, despite failing health, she preached in New England.

Prayer: Lord, forgive for the times I have stubbornly tried to shape my life on my own. I pray that you would mould me and make me according to your will that I may be used for the glory of your kingdom. Amen

You can listen to Have Thine Own Way here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UF3bghptzQ