Does God Want to See You Broken and Shattered?

Mike Hosey, An Elder

Malleable, pliable and ductile are all technical terms used to describe a particular quality of metals, plastics, or other construction materials.  When a piece of construction material is described by these words, it means that it is a workable material.  A piece of metal that is malleable can be bent or hammered into a permanent form.  A piece of plastic that is ductile can be pulled into strands.  A lump of clay that is pliable can be worked into almost any shape, and fashioned into almost any kind of vessel. This is a character trait that God wants for all of us when it comes to our relationship with him.  He is the potter and we are the clay (Isaiah 64:8 and Romans 9:20-21).  When we are malleable, or ductile, or pliable, he can shape us into the person that he wants us to be. And the person he wants us to be most like is Jesus (Romans 8:28-29).  Just like the potter, he must sometimes collapse what he has started, or push in the walls of our vessel to make something new.  This is why Romans 8:28 says he works all things for our good, just like the potter sometimes collapses the clay for the good of a better shaped pot, God sometimes collapses and reshapes us to be more like his son.

But if we are not pliable, ductile, or malleable, then we won’t bend with his creative and redemptive hand.  Instead, just like a dried clay pot, we will shatter into shards and pieces at the touch of his creative force. This is always a painful event, and certainly more painful than being pliable and simply accepting his work in our lives.  But it is also necessary.  Consider that God is pleased by a broken spirit (Psalm 51:17).  This isn’t because God is mean, vindictive or a cosmic sadist. It’s actually because he wants the best for you.  If you’ve ever had an appliance or piece of equipment that isn’t working right, many times you will continue using it, compensating for its deficiencies and dragging out what actually needs to be done. But once it breaks, especially if it’s important, like an air conditioner on a Florida August day, you will get a different attitude about restoration or replacement.

God knows that this is true of your life as well. A broken spirit in a wise person will produce pliable clay that is workable and can be re-shaped, and formed into something better.