11/09/2020

Jeremiah 18 v 1 - 6
The Potter's hand

“Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does..?” (vers 6)

You have heard and probably sang this many times, that “He is the potter and we are the clay”, but do we actually mean it? Do we allow God to mold us into vessels for His greater purpose?

If God has created us in His image and to His liking – because He is God – then surely it is not too much to ask of us to trust His hand with the potting wheel, just like the potter would “create” a piece and then mold it into a work of art that pleases him.

It’s true that God has a special relationship with Israel, due to the covenant that He made with them, but that does not mean we should not allow Him to form us according to “the good pleasure of His will”, knowing that He does not make mistakes.

On the other hand, we tend to warp things when we take matters into our own hands, instead of allowing the Lord to teach us the lessons we should learn from each situation. Ultimately God is in control of His creation and even though He is not a puppeteer, pulling strings the whole time, things usually work out for good, when we allow Him to guide and instruct us in our daily walk with Him.

Do not think that you may not practice your free will, but I would rather use my free will to ask the Lord to show me the way than choose to follow my own mind down the path of destruction, because of pride getting in the way.

There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that we are mere vessels, as His followers, functioning according to His will, should we decide to submit, although we are under no obligation to surrender, but then we should also not expect His blessing and blame Him when things go wrong.

My prayer is that the Lord will form us into something that pleases Him, smoothing out the rough edges, while filling up the cracks that have occurred. Once God is able to work in your life, you will see the fruit of His love, kindness and patience. It all depends on your willingness to submit to His perfect will.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, Life Application Study Bible, unless stated otherwise. Copyright by “The Lockman Foundation“