I have always wanted to take a pottery class. I see that God sent Jeremiah to take a class. Well, Jeremiah got to take a sneak peek at how a potter creates. How he tears down and rebuilds, to create something of beauty.
"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." Jeremiah 18:1-3
You gotta love the lessons from God. He places us exactly where we need to be at exactly the right time. It's the next verse that really gets me.
"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." Jeremiah 18:4
What was up with the clay? Was it unworkable? Did it grow hard? If we are that very clay, in order for us to become what God, the Potter, is creating, we have to be workable. We have to be willing. We have to be that vessel ready for molding.
It is so important for us to be able to see our sin. Unless we can see our sin, can God really create new in us? We must be willing to be broken down and remade. Not by the world's standards. Not by our own standards or will, but solely by the will of God and wanting His will for our life. That takes a humble heart. A heart willing to see the flaws and realize without the work of the Potter, the clay is useless.
Just as Israel needed to repent during this time, we need to be ready and willing to repent. It's in our repenting of our sins that God brings growth. Through that growth becomes beauty. Through the beauty, God shines brightly.
"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." Jeremiah 18:5-6
God can create new in us. He can bring forth beauty from even our darkest sin when we humble ourselves.
"Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18-19
God delivers those who call upon His name and trust Him.
"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:17-19
"But now, O Lord, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You are Potter; and all us are the work of Your hand." Isaiah 64:8
It is my heart's prayer that I humble myself and realize I am nothing without my Lord and Savior. With Him I am everything and complete. It is in His hands that I find peace and rest among this crazy world. A place that is not my home. But while here, the Lord is sending me to the Potter's house. There is much for me to learn. There is growth for me as I become who God has called me to be. For me to do so, I must lay down my own tools and rely on God's molding. I must allow Him the control over my life. It's in that control that I find total peace and solace in Him. Who else would I trust more than the One who created me? Praise God, He isn't finished with me yet. There is still molding to do.
