The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am a potter shaping evil against you and devising a plan against you. Turn now, all of you from your evil way, and amend your ways and your doings. (Jeremiah 18:1-6)
"Don't like the weather? Wait five minutes and it'll change!" Don't like yourself? Ask God to change you and He will! So many of us think we're stuck with who we are. We mope. We brood. We begin to take it out on others. Soon we are no fun to be around. And we mope some more.
Jeremiah didn't like the way his nation had become. They knew it all, didn't need God. And here it was his job to tell them to change. What's a prophet to do? God said, "Go on down to the potter's house, and I'm gonna show you." (God's from Texas, ya know...) And what does Jeremiah find? The perfect sermon being worked out without any words. "The vessel the potter was making of clay was spoiled in the potter's hands, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him." And then God told Jerry, "Don't go on thinking I can't change you or your people! You're all in my hands." Wow. Think about it. You and I are in God's hands, and He's the potter. Prayer is the greatest gift to the unchanged and to the wanting change. "Lord, here I am, and I've not been very pleased or proud of who I am, remake me. And as the precious hymn says, "remold me, make me, like Thee, divine." And wait. And work on those areas of your life that need to die, or wilt, or be cast off, and seek those you should be taking up. Soon, the wheel will stop spinning and God's potter hands will have you as the finished product; a vessel of grace ready for service.
PRAYER: Lord, I and this precious reader, are stepping on Your Potter's wheel. We've spun enough on our own and now we need Your loving hands on us to remake us and mold us. We want to be just as You intended us to be, a perfect vessel of grace and service. Thank You. We praise you in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Smile as you spin! It's God doing the spinning and His hands reworking you!
Eradio Valverde
