Broken Pieces

"You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” - Psalm 2:9

Perhaps you have heard of Aesop's fable of the Oak Tree and the Reed. In this fable, the Oak Tree is proud of who he is and he says to the reed, "look at me, I am a strong oak tree, I am unmovable. You are a small reed; you bend and sway with the slightest of breezes. Nothing can blow me over, I'm strong and mighty."

The Reed remained quiet as the Oak Tree boasted. One day a storm came through and it was a bad one. The reed bowed low to the ground and bent in accordance to the wind. The Oak Tree, strong and mighty, stood tall and fought against the wind and storm. In the midst of the storm, the oak tree is blown over, unable to fight the storm any longer, while the reed survived the storm in tact by bowing low to the ground.

The moral of the story of course is that pride comes before the fall. What strikes me in this story could be summed up in the word pliable. The Reed is pliable, it bends under the weight of the wind, but it doesn't break. The Oak Tree, on the other hand, isn't easily bent. It's not very pliable and under most circumstances, it serves him well, but a strong wind comes and it destroys the Oak Tree. Being pliable is what kept the Reed from the same fate.

When I meditate on Psalm 2:9, that image comes to mind. Are you pliable or are you hard? A potter's vessel broken by a rod of iron is not able to be mended. It's broken but unfixable. God promises this is the result of rebellion against Him. When the nations of this world come against God, the end result will be Him crushing them thoroughly.

We face the same decision in our lives as those nations do, we can bend our knee to this kingship or we can stand strong on our own accomplishments. If we stand tall, we will be cut down. If we bow low, we will find life. The question is really about your heart - is your heart moldable or is it hard. Clay in the hand of the potter can be useful to him. A broken vessel dashed by the iron rod isn't useful at all.

"And its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel that is smashed so ruthlessly that among its fragments not a shard is found with which to take fire from the hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern.” - Isaiah 30:14

Too often we mistake our strengths as stalwarts of our lives. I am strong in this area, so I don't need help. I can do this. I don't need anyone's advice. We think because we are strong we can do it on our own. We don't really need God. But this is far from the truth. God though will allow our strengths to be taken from us to see where our true trust lies. He's giving us over to our own desires. We think we can live without Him and He says, OK let's see.

A mature Christian believes though finds that it's much better for you to fall on the rock than for the rock to fall on you. A mature Christian believes is pliable to God and his purposes. They aren't stiff-necked. They are humble. A mature believer, like the Reed, bends low to God and allows the wind of the Holy Spirit to direct his movements.

Prayer - Father, help me to remain pliable and humble before you. Lord, I bend low before your greatness. You are an amazing God and you alone do I worship. Help me to keep my focus on you and not on my strengths. Whatever good I can offer comes from you. Keep me from trusting in my own abilities and help me to solely trust in you.