Day Fourteen

“‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,
O house of Israel.’” (Jer. 18:6)

Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 18:1–12

Throughout Scripture God assumed the role of teacher. Like most effective instructors, He utilized a host of different methods. He based His teaching on a lesson plan primarily consisting of two sovereign words: whatever works.

In Exodus 31, God wrote His lesson on a chalkboard. (Then, of course, there was that unfortunate incident when His star pupil threw down the chalkboard and God had to write it again.)

In the Gospels, sometimes He gathered His class on the shore and taught them from a boat. (Great method if your students aren’t too easily distracted.)

In Jeremiah 18, however, God used one of my personal favorites: He scheduled a field trip. He sent Jeremiah, one of His front-row students, to a potter’s house without a clue what he would learn. When Jeremiah reached his destination, he saw the potter working at the wheel. The willing student watched over the potter’s shoulder for quite some time (it doesn’t say how long he watched, does it?) before God spoke.

The artist carefully shaped the pot; then Jeremiah saw it marred in the potter’s hands. The artist took the same piece of clay and molded it into the shape of his own choosing. The work of a potter demands such attention that the workman may have been oblivious to Jeremiah’s presence. Finally, God spoke: “‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does? . . . Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand’” (Jer. 18:6).

As the Divine Potter, God introduced Himself vividly to the children of Israel as the God of second chances—the One who could take the marred, broken lump of clay and reshape it into something beautiful and useful. He would willingly turn His chastisements from them and write a new lesson plan—if they would let Him. He knew in advance what His people would do. They would consider the prospect, try to imagine themselves beautifully remade, count the cost, and reply, “It’s no use.”

Can you imagine becoming a newly formed vessel in God’s hands? A sacred and useful vessel? Have parts of you been marred for so long that you can’t imagine how He could ever reshape you? Does the process seem too lengthy? Does it require too much cooperation? Do you sometimes think, It’s no use? Sometimes we can see folly in others that we cannot see in ourselves. Didn’t we wonder how Israel could have made such a poor choice when they were given another chance? How could they have been such cracked pots? To say “It’s no use” is to say the Potter is not qualified to do what He does best. Take your chances on God. Put your life in His hands. Newness doesn’t come from faith in yourself. It comes from faith in Him.