ELLEN DYKAS | CONTRIBUTOR
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2 Corinthians 4:7)
I recently told a friend that I’m willing to participate in the sufferings of Christ; but can it be on my terms and in the form, timing, and intensity of my choosing?! I see the irony and hypocrisy of such a statement yet the truth is, it’s how I feel and think sometimes, even if unconsciously. Maybe like me, you delight in being a clay jar filled with the treasure of Jesus, yet struggle when the clay feels extra fragile, sad, or worn out. In those conditions, I can be tempted to want to click a ‘return’ button as simply as it is to send back an unwanted Amazon package.
In the past few years, certain aspects of my clay-ness have felt extra hard. The impact of menopause on my body and ongoing disrupted sleep. Health related anxiety and the physiological, emotional, and spiritual impact of that. I transitioned into a (mostly) full time equipping and content development role which has been truly such a gift to have a dedicated season to pour out what I’ve learned in the years I’ve served with Harvest USA. Yet, it’s also been unexpectedly lonely, as I’ve been at my desk more than face to face with women as I was for my first sixteen years.
What’s a girl to do? What are jars of clay to do when they treasure the treasure of Jesus, yet trip up when unexpected conditions surprise and distract us from Him? How are you experiencing the reality of frailty in your life as a leader, or as a friend, mom, wife, in your body, aging process, or some other sphere? Here are two (of many) wise escape paths when we’re more than ready to press ‘return’ on the conditions in which God is allowing both our clay-ness, and His surpassing power, to shine.
Rush to Jesus when clay-ness threatens to undo you
Charles Spurgeon nailed it when he commented on, “Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress” (Psalm 71:3). He prayed out of his own clay-ness,
Permit me to enter into thee, and be as much at home as a man in his own house, and then suffer me to remain in thee as my settled abode. Whereas foes [harass] me, I need a dwelling framed and bulwarked, to sustain a siege and resist the attacks of armies; let, then, thine omnipotence secure me, and be as a fortress unto me… Whereunto I may continually resort. Fast shut is this castle against all adversaries, its gates they cannot burst open; the drawbridge is up, the portcullis is down, the bars are fast in their places; but, there is a secret door, by which friends of the great Lord can enter at all hours of the day or night, as often as ever they please.1
When your weaknesses and dependency-provoking circumstances threaten to rob your hope, joy, and peace in the Lord, run towards Him in prayer, crying out for help to receive His mercy, comfort and strength.
Remember that frailties and suffering are allowed to form you
God’s word is clear that He is purposeful in His sovereignty over every detail of our lives and His creation. Yet, we still often resist and resent it when we suffer. Your ministry boss dismisses your concerns. Your body is sick or weak. The finances are barely covering the bills. Kids are rejecting Jesus. You were overlooked (again) for an opportunity to serve. Afflictions come in you-sized unique packages, yet always must serve God’s purposes to shape you into the likeness of His son.
Suffering reveals the genuineness of our faith in Christ. And suffering produces genuine faith. For example, when you struggle under affliction, the Psalms become real. True faith deepens, brightens, and grows wise. You grow up in knowing God…Suffering is both the acid test and the catalyst. It reveals and forms faith. It also exposes and destroys counterfeit faith. Afflictions expose illusory hope in imaginary gods. Such disillusionment is a good thing, a severe mercy. The destruction of what is false invites repentance and faith in God as he truly is. Suffering brings a foretaste of the loss of every good thing for those who profess faith in the one Savior of the world, God’s inexpressible gift, the Lifegiver.2
We have a Refuge to run to and a Lifegiving Savior to rescue from all that would threaten to undo us. We have a Father who, like a skilled craftsman, is shaping us as clay into the image of Jesus. And a Spirit who groans for us when our groanings drown out His voice. We are clay jars filled with the treasure of Christ, and while we wait to shed our dusty selves and be made gloriously new, day after day we can rush to Him at all hours of the day or night, as often as needed and whenever we please.
1 https://gracegems.org/Spurgeon/071.htm#:~:text=Verse%203.,often%20as%20ever%20they%20please, January 29, 2026.
2 David Powlison, God’s Grace in Your Suffering, (Wheaton: Crossway Publishers, 2018), 14
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