What is Miry Clay?

Miry clay is not just a biblical metaphor, its a real substance. It's literal definition is "a slippery, unstable, and deep mud that can be found in bogs or marshes that can trap a person, making escape difficult."

Many of us, however, have only heard the term miry clay used in verses like Psalm 40:2 (NASB), "He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock, making my footsteps firm." When used in this way, miry clay is truly a metaphor that "symbolizes being stuck in a destructive pattern of sin, despair, or spiritual chaos." This is what's meant by the pit of destruction that David spoke of–the dire circumstances that only God could deliver him from while establishing David on solid ground once more. The truth is, David is not alone in needing this kind of deliverance. At some point, and maybe at many points in our lives, we all get stuck in miry clay.

The wonderous and beautiful thing about the God of the Bible is that He loves us with such a deep compassion that He is not willing to leave us stuck in the mud. He demonstrated that by entering the depths of human suffering (miry clay), being willingly buried in a pit of destruction that was not of His own making (the cross and subsequent death), all while trusting in the goodness of the Father to bring about resurrection life (establishing His life once again).

Here's the thing...God doesn't look at our mud-soaked lives and see a hopeless situation. Nor does He waste the miry bog in which we find ourselves trapped. Just as Jesus demonstrated, our Father has the tremendous ability to remold and reshape that clay until it no longer looks like a pit of destruction–but rather a repurposed vessel for His glory. "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)

Our products are for everyone and every occasion. However, I started Jubilee Seasons with a specific people group in mind–those who have been shaped by pain and trauma and are now looking for answers in finding healing and wholeness. Both physical and emotional pain have a shaping quality about them. The outcome of which is despair, fear, and an inability to free oneself from their hold. This inevitably misshapes our "true selves" and God's intended purposes for our lives.

But even so... the Master Potter knows how to take hold of our mud-covered lives and bring about a breath-takingly beautiful vessel of honor. One that points others to the way of escape (Jesus Himself) and the higher ground that they themselves have found.

"Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." (2 Timothy 2:19-21, NIV)

Listen, we all need cleansing. The term wickedness means anything that takes our hearts away from the love and care of our Heavenly Father. It's not just personal sin (or someone else's sin) that leaves a scar on our souls. It may also be something that seems good, but ultimately has a misshaping effect that turns us into someone we are not.

Those who truly find their lives redeemed (reshaped into a vessel of honor) from the pit are not the ones who cover-up their fear, despair, or pain. Rather, they are the ones who call out to God, asking for His peace, joy, and restfulness to reshape and remold their lives from the inside out. And then, in quiet trust and faith, they simply stop squirming (wrestling, defending their position, or trying to save themselves) in the miry clay, and wait upon the goodness of God to rescue them–setting their feet on solid ground.

True redemption brings us into transformation; and transformation requires resurrection.

And there is only One who can make the claim that He knows the way to resurrection...

The One who says He is the Way.