Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance. Psalm 42:5 (NKJV)

The clay pot sits on the shelf, unfinished. It is not abandoned. The Potter knows that the clay must dry, for moisture will cause it to crack in the kiln. Different types of clay have differing amounts of moisture, so a pot may stay on the drying rack longer than the three to four weeks that many of the clay pieces around it need.

If the pot could speak, I imagine it being rather disgruntled about being on the drying rack. “I’m tired of waiting! Hey, Potter, did you give up on me? Haven’t I been dry long enough?”

Often, we are the pottery questioning our Potter. We are waiting for something, or spiritual dryness plagues us.

Waiting on the Drying Rack

Are you tired of waiting for an answer, or waiting for circumstances to change? We need to learn something while we “dry” on God’s drying rack. Sometimes God, in His divine wisdom, knows that we are not ready for the answer yet.

Think of a time you were on the drying rack, waiting for God to act. How did you feel? What helped you? What did you learn in the process? Please share in the comments.

One of my “drying rack” times of waiting involved purchasing a home. On the morning I was to call with our offer on a house, my husband changed his mind and had me tell the Realtor that we were no longer looking. I resented his decision. That evening my husband returned from work. He told me there had been a layoff. He still had a job, but more layoffs followed. I learned that my will was not in line with God’s will. Listening to my spouse was an early lesson that I still continue to learn even after 40 years of marriage. Two years later we purchased a better home for our family.

Spiritual Dryness

Other times the drying rack can be a time of spiritual dryness. This is a common occurrence. These spiritually dry times can be uncomfortable and difficult to understand.

Have you experienced this dryness like I have? Prayers seem to hit the ceiling, unanswered. Scripture assures us that God listens to our prayers, but it doesn’t feel like it. I read my Bible but don’t get anything out of it. I want desperately to feel close to God, but He seems far away. David cried out to God in a period of dryness, expressing his frustration.

As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, “Where is your God?” When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me…Psalm 42:1–4a (NKJV)

Psalm 42:5 reveals that David knew he wouldn’t stay cast down, but that he would praise God. Like David, I sometimes struggle but I must remember that my hope is also found in God.

Sometimes the cause of dryness is our own indifference or busyness. The Bible gets dusty from lack of use, and we ignore our prayer life. If we haven’t regularly been soaking our souls in Scripture, prayer, and fellowship with other believers, our affection for Jesus dries up.

Disobedience to God also dries our interest in our spiritual life. It’s hard to be excited about what God is teaching when we are unwilling to apply it to our lives.

Have you gone through a dry time? Are you to the point where you now praise God?

Obedience is the cure.

Whether we’re in a spiritually dry time or a time of waiting, obedience matters. We need to read God’s Word even when we’re tired or don’t feel like doing it. Stopping our time with God does not make us desire Him more. It is in persevering in prayer and reading Scripture that our Potter renews us. Christ cures us just as the clay cures so it is perfect for the work of the potter.

Let’s hope in God and focus on Him. God will be with us. He is still finishing the work He has started in each of us.

Dear Master Potter, waiting for answered prayers seems so long when I don’t see loved ones coming back to You. Help me to hold on to the expectant hope that You are making everything new. Your work is always perfect. When I feel too busy or I’m spiritually dry, help me to make and keep You as the priority in my life. In Christ Jesus I pray, Amen.

Thank you for reading my devotionals. Go back to past devotionals if you missed any of the 2025 Clay in the Potter’s Hands series, Attributes of God: A to Z series in 2024, or previous devotionals. Click on the date under the title to expand the text.

###

Scriptures marked NKJV are taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION (NKJV): Scripture taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION®. Copyright© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.