March 19: Clay in the Potter's Hands
Your life feels misshapen. Bent by years of drinking into something you never meant it to be.
“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. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.”
God sent Jeremiah to watch a potter at work. The potter was shaping a pot on the wheel, and something went wrong. The clay was marred in his hands. So he didn’t throw it away. He reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.
Then God said: can’t I do with you as this potter does? Like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in Mine.
Two things stand out. First, the clay was marred. Something went wrong with it. The story doesn’t pretend otherwise. Second, the potter didn’t toss it. He kept his hands on it and made something new.
That’s hopeful for anyone whose life has been bent by drinking. You’re not too marred to be reshaped. God doesn’t throw away damaged clay.
But notice what the clay has to do. Nothing, really, except stay on the wheel. Clay doesn’t shape itself. It doesn’t argue with the potter about what it should become. It yields to the hands working it.
That’s Step Three. Deciding to stay on the wheel. Letting God shape your thinking and your actions, even when it’s uncomfortable. Reshaping involves pressure. Things get pushed and pulled. Old shapes get flattened. It’s not always pleasant. But the potter knows what He’s making.
Self-will is clay trying to jump off the wheel. “I’ll shape myself, thanks.” That’s what led to the marring in the first place.
You may not know what God is making of you yet. That’s all right. The clay never knows until the end. But the potter’s hands are good hands. They’re patient. They don’t give up.
The next steps, starting with Step Four, are part of how the reshaping happens. Each one is a turn of the wheel. Stay on it.
One thing today
Name one area of your life where you’ve been trying to shape things yourself. Pray: “You’re the potter. I’m the clay. Shape this Your way.”
A prayer
Lord, I’m marred clay. Don’t throw me away. Keep Your hands on me. Shape me into whatever You want, and help me stay on the wheel.
Yielding to God is the heart of Step Three.
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