It sounds harsh at first

I'll be honest: the first time you read Romans 9:20, it doesn't sound very comforting. "Who are you, a human being, to talk back to God?" It can come across like God is saying, "Don't ask Me questions."

But that's not what Paul is saying. To see what he really means, it helps to know who's speaking.

Getting to know God

For most of my life, I believed in God, but I didn't really know Him. That began to change when I started spending time in His Word every day. The more I read, the more I saw how holy God is. He's perfect, and completely set apart from us.

I also learned something I'd never understood: sin separates us from God. The Bible says, "Your iniquities have separated you from your God" (Isaiah 59:2). Sin doesn't just disappoint Him. It puts us at odds with Him. That honestly scared me.

The potter and the clay

Paul uses a picture that's easy to understand: a potter and a lump of clay. The potter decides what to make. The clay doesn't get a vote. God is our Creator, and He has the right to shape our lives for His purposes. We only see a small part of the picture. He sees all of it.

Honest questions are welcome

That doesn't mean God doesn't want to hear our questions. The Bible is full of people who asked Him hard things. David poured out his heart in the Psalms. Habakkuk asked, "How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen?" (Habakkuk 1:2).

What Paul is warning against is a proud question, the kind that says, "I don't get it, so You must be wrong." An honest question sounds different: "I don't get it, but I trust You, and I want to understand."

Why this verse matters to me

Ever since I was a boy, I've experienced same-sex attraction. Those desires didn't line up with God's design or His Word, and for most of my life I couldn't understand why I had them. I was never angry with God, just confused. Over and over, often in tears, I asked Him what was wrong with me.

Then I came to Romans 9:20. After everything I'd been reading, there it was: the very question I'd been asking my whole life, written right there in the Bible. To me, that was confirmation that God had heard me all along.

It showed me that when we take the time to get to know God, He is there, and He answers. Not always on our timeline, but in His perfect timing.

I share the whole story in my memoir, Why Did You Make Me Like This?

What I learned

That verse showed me I'd been asking the wrong thing all along. I kept going to the Bible for answers, when I needed to go to it to find Jesus. I wanted clarity. He wanted a relationship.

For years I'd tried to fix myself with willpower. It never worked. I didn't need to try harder. I needed a Savior.

Jesus said, "Seek and you will find" (Matthew 7:7). When I started seeking Him instead of an answer, everything began to change.

Content to be the clay

That's why this verse means so much to me, and why this ministry carries its name. It didn't just answer my question. It pointed me to Jesus.

I finally found the Potter, and for the first time in my life, I was content to be the clay.