JEREMIAH 18:1-6 – The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

THEME OF THE DAY. OUR GLORIOUS DIVINE POTTER. The picture of the Potter and clay is a wonderful way God has chosen to show us how He works in our lives. What we read in Jeremiah is echoed by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Roman Christians – But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction (Romans 9:20-22). As we think through this picture, we reaffirm at least three things about our God as the Divine Potter.

First, He is our sovereign Creator. No one is self-made. We are dependent beings, not sometimes, but all the time. When life gets hard and challenges abound, it is easy to forget this truth and try to figure things out on our own. Don’t go there. We are not to live independent, but dependent on the Divine Potter who is our sovereign, always enough and in control Creator.

Another truth about God being our Divine Potter is He is at work in our lives. Always. There are times it might not seem like it. We do go through spiritual seasons when spiritual growth appears non-existent. The Bible is dry, prayer feels mechanical and lifeless, church is a dull weekly routine, and spiritual depression settles over our hearts like a heavy blanket of fog on Narragansett Bay. But during those times, God is still at work. When we still read our Bibles, though dry; when we still seek His face in prayer, though mechanical and lifeless; and when suffering spiritual depression, we still maintain week-in and week-out faithfulness to church, we are growing in the faith. We really are. It is when we suppress feelings and obey God despite feelings, we are slowly but surely cooperating with the Divine Potter who is using such seasons to build persevering and steadfast faith in us.

A final truth about our Divine Potter God is that He never leaves a “lump of clay” unfinished. There has never been or ever will be a believer, a jar of clay in the Hand of the Divine Potter, who will not enjoy the completed work of God. Yes, we are works in progress but progress it is. He will finish His shaping work of making us like His Son, the Lord Jesus. The Apostle Paul reminds us of this so encouraging truth, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Let’s just ensure we maintain a heart of “soft clay” in the hands of our Divine Potter to ensure we are pliable in those hands.

PRAYER: “Father, may my heart always be soft and pliable in Your hands.”

QUOTE: “Don’t let the world and flesh harden my heart and keep me from being shaped by You.”