Molded By The Master
Jeremiah 18:1-6
The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.
5 Then the Lord gave me this message: 6 “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.
In today's Scripture passage, God is teaching us about His relationship with His children. He says that He will deal with us just as a potter works with clay and that we, like the clay, are in His hands.
God deals with believers in two ways. First, He is molding every one of us into the image of His Son Jesus. Second, He is shaping us for a specific purpose, one that is individually designed so we will help build 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. Another possibility is that He may speed up the pace until we feel as if we’re 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 the ways that God deals with us, we can relax knowing "in His hands" is exactly the place we want to be.
Credit: NLT - In Touch Ministries - Charles Stanley - HS
