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Broken Pottery
September 25, 2006
Psalm 31:12, 1416, NIV
By Peggy Musgrove
"I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.' My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love."
Is anything as worthless as broken pottery? It cannot be sewn together, welded, glued or mended. Its certain end is the trash heap. This valueless object is what the psalmist compared himself to in Psalm 31:12: "I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery."
Even a casual reading of this psalm lets us know the psalmist is speaking for more than himself; he is pointing ahead to the suffering Savior. As Easter season approaches and we contemplate Christ on the cross, we ask, "Did Jesus feel He had become like broken pottery?"
Broken pottery implies uselessness, a feeling that many people have about themselves, particularly those who encounter difficulties in life. Broken relationships, broken health, broken careers and broken promises shatter life's dreams. Is it possible Christ felt this devastating sense of uselessness as He hung on the cross, a broken vessel of no physical use?
Broken pottery suggests abuse by life. Some unforeseen encounter crushed the vessel leaving it in a broken state. Verbal and physical abuse is rampant in our society leaving many people marred and broken by its impact. However, abuse does not always come from others. Some people abuse themselves with substances that devastate the body. Many people suffer the results of poor choices in their youth, choices that left them like broken pottery on the ash heap of life. The crucified Christ understood abuse. He suffered it in the week of His passion, the hours before the Cross. Could this abuse have added to His sense of feeling like broken pottery?
Broken pottery suggests worthlessness. In our pragmatic society which relates value to purpose, broken people often have a low sense of self-worth. Of what value is broken pottery, or a broken life, if it has lost usefulness? Only time would reveal the immeasurable value of the broken life of Christ. And because of His death on the cross, He gives value and purpose to all who come to Him.
The beauty of this psalm is that it does not end with a hopeless comparison to broken pottery. A joyful statement follows, "But I trust in you, O Lord." God can redesign a broken life, whatever the devastation of the past. All it takes is trust and commitment. "My times are in your hands," declared the psalmist. The past may have shattered me like a clay pot, but my future is in Your hands. I will ever trust in Your unfailing love. Because of Christ's death on the cross, lives which have been broken find value and purpose.
If life has dealt you some shattering blows and you would like prayer, email the Womens Ministries staff at womensministries@ag.org.
Peggy Musgrove served as editor of Woman's Touch and director of the Assemblies of God national Women's Ministries Department from 1994 to 1998.
http://womensministries.ag.org/
September 25, 2006
Psalm 31:12, 1416, NIV
By Peggy Musgrove
"I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.' My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love."
Is anything as worthless as broken pottery? It cannot be sewn together, welded, glued or mended. Its certain end is the trash heap. This valueless object is what the psalmist compared himself to in Psalm 31:12: "I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery."
Even a casual reading of this psalm lets us know the psalmist is speaking for more than himself; he is pointing ahead to the suffering Savior. As Easter season approaches and we contemplate Christ on the cross, we ask, "Did Jesus feel He had become like broken pottery?"
Broken pottery implies uselessness, a feeling that many people have about themselves, particularly those who encounter difficulties in life. Broken relationships, broken health, broken careers and broken promises shatter life's dreams. Is it possible Christ felt this devastating sense of uselessness as He hung on the cross, a broken vessel of no physical use?
Broken pottery suggests abuse by life. Some unforeseen encounter crushed the vessel leaving it in a broken state. Verbal and physical abuse is rampant in our society leaving many people marred and broken by its impact. However, abuse does not always come from others. Some people abuse themselves with substances that devastate the body. Many people suffer the results of poor choices in their youth, choices that left them like broken pottery on the ash heap of life. The crucified Christ understood abuse. He suffered it in the week of His passion, the hours before the Cross. Could this abuse have added to His sense of feeling like broken pottery?
Broken pottery suggests worthlessness. In our pragmatic society which relates value to purpose, broken people often have a low sense of self-worth. Of what value is broken pottery, or a broken life, if it has lost usefulness? Only time would reveal the immeasurable value of the broken life of Christ. And because of His death on the cross, He gives value and purpose to all who come to Him.
The beauty of this psalm is that it does not end with a hopeless comparison to broken pottery. A joyful statement follows, "But I trust in you, O Lord." God can redesign a broken life, whatever the devastation of the past. All it takes is trust and commitment. "My times are in your hands," declared the psalmist. The past may have shattered me like a clay pot, but my future is in Your hands. I will ever trust in Your unfailing love. Because of Christ's death on the cross, lives which have been broken find value and purpose.
If life has dealt you some shattering blows and you would like prayer, email the Womens Ministries staff at womensministries@ag.org.
Peggy Musgrove served as editor of Woman's Touch and director of the Assemblies of God national Women's Ministries Department from 1994 to 1998.
http://womensministries.ag.org/
