Singing In the Furnace

“ Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” Isaiah 64:8

It has been told that long ago, potters used to put their earthenware vases in ovens to temper them as we do now. They had one major problem, however. Since they didn’t have clocks or all of the technical gear we have today, they had to literally “play it by ear”. One man watched a potter work on his vessel, and when the artisan put it in the oven, the observer asked, “How long will you leave it in there?” The potter straightened up and said, “Some take longer than others, and some not so long. It just depends on how I make the piece. You see, we never make them just alike”. “Well, how do you know when it’s done?” “We keep it in the heat until it sings”. The surprised observer said, “What do you mean, “Until it sings’?”

Patiently the potter explained, “There is a noise that emanates from tempered pottery in the heat of a furnace once it reaches the proper heat point. When we hear the pottery ‘singing’ in the furnace, we know it’s ready to be removed from the heat. Stay right here, and listen for the song”. So the man sat there by the oven while the potter returned to his potter’s wheel.  Sure enough, after a short time he begins to hear a high-pitched hum coming from the oven. The man glanced at the potter and said, “Is it singing now”.

The potter nodded and said, “It sure is. It’s fully tempered and ready to come out”. You may be in the midst of your own fire right now... Are you singing yet? It is vital to learn how to sing once we’re heated in “the furnace of affliction”. See, Isaiah 48:10 “See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction”. May we learn to worship despite shame, regrets, fears, pain or any opposition that we may have to face. Lord, we turn our focus and attention to you, and we elect to sing in the mist of any trail that may come along. Lord, may we stay on the potter’s wheel.  May we continue to (worship in all that we do) sing with a sincere and pure heart knowing that “all of our days are crafted (fashioned) into your perfect plan. We worship today by declaring that our lives are in the “Potter’s Hand” and we will not complain, but well will worship (sing). Forever worship Him!

References:
"Worship" Joseph L. Garlington