In Jeremiah 18, God told Jeremiah to go down to the potter's house. As Jeremiah watched the potter working on a jar, it didn't turn out the way the man wanted, so he crushed up the clay and started again. Although the message was for Israel, it is one for us today. When we don't turn out the way God wants, when we mess up and our actions don't line up with His plan, He doesn't toss us aside. He puts us back on the wheel and works on us again. He remolds and reshapes.
There is a song that goes like this:
Empty and broken, I came back to Him
A vessel unworthy, so scarred by sin.
But He did not despair...He started over again
And I bless the day, He didn't throw the clay away.
Over and over, He molds me and makes me,
Into His likeness, He fashions the clay.
A vessel of honor, I am today,
All because Jesus didn't throw the clay away.
He is the Potter...I am the clay
And molded in His image, He wants me to stay.
Oh, but when I stumble...
When I fall...
When my vessel breaks,
He just picks up those pieces,
He does not throw the clay away...
Over and over, He molds me and makes me,
Into His likeness, He fashions the clay.
A vessel of honor, I am today,
All because Jesus didn't throw the clay away.
I feel like I have spent my entire life on the potter's wheel. I look at others who seem to be the perfect masterpiece. They are worthy vessels God uses in mighty ways. And then there is me....a lump of clay being remolded and reshaped......over and over again. I have so many flaws and imperfections that I wonder if I'll ever get off of the potter's wheel and not need more work.
But yet, it should be a good sign if God has us on the wheel reshaping and working on us. That means He hasn't given up on us and still sees value in us. I would much rather be on the potter's wheel than tossed aside on the garbage pile.
I don't know much about clay or potter's wheels, but I would imagine there comes a time when the clay is too hard to be molded anymore. It is no longer resilient and soft, but difficult to reshape anymore and must be thrown away. I don't ever want to be like that. I want to always be soft and malleable. If God wants to reshape and remold me, I want to be willing and able to be put on the wheel and worked on and over again. I don't ever want to get to the place where I consider myself done, to think I am a masterpiece and God doesn't need to work on me anymore.
And it is easy to look at others who God is using and think they have it all together, but we don't know what is going on behind the scenes. God may have them on the wheel and reworking them also, and we don't know what they went through to get to where they are. Sometimes the clay goes through the fire before it is ready to be used.
There is song that has been on my mind a lot lately, another song about clay and the potter: "I'll Trust the Potter's Hand".
Here on the potter’s wheel, I find myself once more,
My faults and frailties bring me here just like before,
With strong and loving hands the pressure is applied,
Oft times I tremble as He puts me thru the fire
Chorus:
I’ll trust the potter’s hands, He knows what’s best for me,
He has a perfect plan these human eyes can’t see,
He’s the potter I’m the clay,
He knows just how much I can take,
When I face the fire again I’ll trust the potter’s hands
V2:
His hands work deep inside and He makes no mistakes,
Though it seems I’ll crumble down and I can hardly stand the pain,
But into His own design, He is molding me I know,
Though my world spins all around the potter’s in control
Chorus:
I’ll trust the potter’s hands, He knows what’s best for me,
He has a perfect plan these human eyes can’t see,
He’s the potter I’m the clay,
He knows just how much I can take,
When I face the fire again I’ll trust the potter’s hands
And therein lies the rub: trusting the Potter. I want to jump ahead to the finished product. I want to skip the trials, heartaches, temptations, and any discomfort and just arrive at being a masterpiece and a finished vessel. It is too easy for me to doubt and think God doesn't have my best interests at heart, when He is most likely just plopping me back on the wheel to work on me some more. I am stubborn, and tend to think I know what is best for me. The truth of the matter is I don't know what is best for me, but He does. And if I spend the rest of my life on the Potter's wheel being remolded and reshaped, then so be it. At least I can rest in knowing He still values me and has a plan.
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