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

“Have Thine Own Way Lord” is one of my all time favorite hymns. In my child’s mind, I could relate to the words. I knew what clay was and it could be molded into any shape you chose. The older I became, that image changed and I understood a deeper spiritual meaning.

Have Thine own way, Lord,
Have Thine own way;
Thou art the Potter,
I am the clay.
Mould me and make me
After Thy will,
While I am waiting,
Yielded and still.

Lyrics: Adelaide Addison Pollard (1862-1934) Music: George Coles Stebbins (1846-1945) http://womenofchristianity.com

‘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 18:3-4 NIV

The author of this hymn text, Adelaide A. Pollard, was herself experiencing a “distress of soul” during this time. It appears that it was a period in her life when she had been unsuccessful in raising funds to make a desired trip to Africa for missionary service. In this state of discouragement, she attended a little prayer meeting one night and was greatly impressed with the prayer of an elderly woman, who omitted the usual requests for blessings and things, and simply petitioned God for an understanding of His will in life. Upon returning home that evening, Miss Pollard meditated further on the story of the potter, found in Jeremiah 18:3-4. Before retiring that evening, Adelaide Pollard completed the writing of all four stanzas of this hymn as it is sung today.

http://womenofchristianity.com

I enjoy learning the origin of hymns. This hymn has stuck with me as I have grown older. I have fallen short of becoming the vessel God was molding me to be. However, each day is a new opportunity for me to ask “God for an understanding of His will in life”. I am marred, but God does not give up on me. Like clay, he continues to mold me into the person He wants me to be.