In the Potter's Hand

Jeremiah 18:1-6 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. (NIV)

I saw this scripture in the devotional book I read today and thought of just how good God is. First of all, we didn't get to go to the church service this Sunday because the Royal Ranger camping trip hurt Darin's back. Well, I noticed that Pastor preached on this very subject, and since God didn't want me left out, He provided the lesson to me another way. Wow God loves us so much!

Well, in college I took 2 pottery classes and LOVED them. If I could have a potter's wheel and kiln I would work on that wheel every chance I could get. I wasn't that good at it but I loved working with that clay.

The first thing I think about with working with clay is that the clay has to be prepared properly before putting it on the wheel. I had to knead the clay, over and over until the air bubbles and hard chunks were removed. If it isn't kneaded properly there would be disastrous results. First of all if there are hard chunks in the clay it will hurt your hand when turning the clay, Also, the chunks get in the way, preventing you from being able to form the clay into a beautiful form. Now if air bubbles are not removed it doesn't get in the way while you are forming the pot necessarily, in fact you may never notice them. BUT when the pot is fired in the high temperature kiln, the pot may explode because of the air bubbles.

So today as I think about God, our potter, I am thinking of how He has to get me ready for the potter's wheel before He can shape me the way He desires. That is love because If I yield to Him he will prevent me from "exploding" in the refining fire and He will also not run into blockages when He is forming me. If only I can open my eyes and see His hand at work I would not whine so much during trials and hard times.


Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (NIV)