Have thine own way, Lord!  Have thine own way!
Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after thy will,
while I am waiting, yielded and still.         (Adelaide A. Pollard, 1906)

I have known and loved that song for as long as I can remember.  (It’s #154 in my well-worn copy of the 1966 edition of The Methodist Hymnal, which I liberated from the church of my youth years ago – well beyond the statute of limitations.)

As you will see posted in many a choir rehearsal room, St. Augustine said, “The one who sings, prays twice.”  I don’t know if it counted as praying twice or not, but I have sung this hymn many times with no one else to listen but God.

As I sing this hymn, my mind conjures images of skilled hands shaping clay on a potter’s wheel, gently smoothing and shaping the pliable clay.

When I pray this hymn, that’s what I am inviting God to do – to gently shape and smooth me into the kind of person God wants me to become.

It’s a lovely image.  It’s an earnest prayer.  It totally ignores the scriptural origin of the hymn.

Jeremiah 18:1-11 describes the prophet’s visit to the potter’s house and God’s word to him there.  The word of the Lord to Jeremiah is not about gentle shaping and smoothing with God’s loving hands.  Instead, God tells Jeremiah to pay attention to what the potter does when the vessel being turned is not coming out as intended.

The potter smushes the clay down and goes at it again.

If clay had feelings, I bet it would hurt a bit.

I know it hurts when it happens in real life.

Offering one’s life to God means that you are saying yes to more than gentle nudges, small adjustments, and careful smoothing.  Saying “yes” to the Potter means that you are ready to be made over completely.

If you’re going to sing to God, you better be careful.  God may just take you at your word.

Prayer: I’ve got a good thing going.  I’ve got plans I’m looking forward to.  I’m ok with some minor revisions, but let’s rule out any smushing and re-making, okay?  Oh well, on second thought…
Have thine own way, Lord!  Have thine own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway.
Fill with thy Spirit till all shall see,
Christ only, always, living in me!