A Work on the Wheels
READ IT ALOUD: Then I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it (Jeremiah 18:3-4).
PONDER IT PRAYERFULLY: Pottery takes patience. I have tried it. Many times, when the clay refused to “behave,” I tossed it away and took a different mound of clay. Many times I vented my frustrations at the clay and smashed it with my hands.
God is a different kind of Potter, and He shares this with us in His revelation to Jeremiah. The potter in this chapter is making a vessel, but the clay in his hands is marred, i.e. blemished, flawed, disfigured, spoiled.
However, instead of tossing it away like I (and I assume any other human being) would do to something spoiled, this potter just reshapes it – he makes IT, the same piece of clay, another vessel, “as seem[s] good” to him.
BE A DOER (JAMES 1:22): God views each of us as vessels. We are all like clay in His hands. We are marred, disfigured by the vicissitudes of life. Like one man said, when we are born, our lives are like a white slate. Life makes marks on this slate and before long it is pitch-black. Our pasts are messy; we have all made mistakes, and most of us have been influenced negatively by people and circumstances. When we come to God, we are marred physically, emotionally and in many other ways.
God stubbornly holds on to us and refuses to give up on us when the world does. Instead of throwing us out like others would, or replacing us for cuter and more-perfect vessels, He patiently reshapes us. As He works, He looks at us – God watches us! – and thinks about us. At the end of His work, we are the same vessel, but at the same time not the same. We have been made “another vessel, as seem[s] good to the Potter.”
If you are faced with questions today, asking yourself why God would choose to be your Father, to appoint you to a task and even go so far as to dwell in you (1 Corinthians 3:16), please remember that your focus should not be on yourself and your imperfections, but on the Potter who is making you another vessel. He knew you intimately before your parents ever encountered each other (Jeremiah 1:5). He knows what He is doing and even though it may not feel wonderful while He straightens the kinks and seals the cracks, it is for a reason, for your good and for His glory. Be encouraged.
HIDE IT IN YOUR HEART (PSALM 119:11): For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end (Jeremiah 29:11).
PRAY IT PERSONALLY: Father in heaven, thank You for bringing me to yet another Monday. Let me remember this week and always that You regard me as special; I am Your very own vessel and You watch me and think about me and know me intimately. Fix me, Lord; for I am a marred pot. Align my expectations with the end You have for me. Thank You for Your everlasting love, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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