Jeremiah 18: 1-6
The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying, “Arise and go down to the potter‘s house, and there I will announce My words to you.“ Then I went down to the potter‘s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?“ declares the LORD. “Behold, like the clay in the potter‘s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.
In today‘s Scripture passage, God is teaching us about His relationship with His children. He tells us that He will deal with us just as a potter works with clay and that we, like the clay, are in His hands. (Jeremiah 18:6)
God deals with believers in two ways. First, He is molding every one of us into the image of His Son Jesus. Secondly, He is shaping us for a specific purpose, one that is individually designed and brings about our usefulness in building His kingdom. Our part as the clay is to submit ourselves to His purpose. As the potter, He may subtract something from our life—similar to removing lumps from clay—or He may speed up the pace until we feel as if we are spinning. Or, desiring a new shape for His “vessels,“ He might dramatically rework our pattern of living in order to start us in a new direction. Our responsibility is to accept any changes from the Master Potter.
We can do this confidently because we are in God‘s hands. Scripture describes them as . . . creative hands whose skillful work is displayed in nature . . . hands filled with righteousness . . . hands that give life and take it away . . . mighty and powerful hands that rescued Israel from Egypt and us from slavery to sin . . . hands that protect us . . . hands that were pierced so we might be made new.
When we think about being clay in the Potter‘s hands and about the ways that God deals with us, we can relax knowing “in His hands“ is exactly the place we want to be.
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