Scripture: Jeremiah 18 v 1 - 10.
Verse 4: "And the vessel that he made of clay was
marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as it
seemed good to the potter to make it."
As the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My
hand says the Lord to Israel through the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah. The
Lord desires to mould His people into the shape He desires for us, but often
the clay is unyielding and difficult to work with.
It has to be thrown again and again onto the potter's
wheel until it is workable, supple clay. Jesus is looking for commitment,
obedience, availabilty and honesty in us so that we will not crack nor shatter
when the enemy tests our faith.
How many times has the Lord sent us back onto the wheel
to remould us closer to His heart's desire for us? Do we realise that
everything in this life is measured to us to bring us into line with the
Potter's plan for us.
He wants to use us but as soon as we feel His hand on us
we think we are being attacked by an enemy and we start rebuking and cutting off
what we think is an oppression. We need to be more sensitive to the Lord, and
correctly discern the work of the Cross.
Our God knows how many hairs are on our heads and He
knows where we fit in with His divine plan. We may not see what God sees or know
too much about the bigger picture, but we can be more discerning about our
place in the scheme of things.
Our Father loves us and arranges things around us so that
we are prepared and equipped to handle the hurdles of life much like an Olympic
athlete who is trained and ready to run at his best in his events. Do not think
that Lord cannot change His mind about us. At a moment when He is about to
throw us back on the wheel He suddenly feels our humility, readiness and
willingness to change. He then makes something beautiful out of our lives.
Like the clay, we have no say in what the potter wants to
make out of us. Our cleverness and worldly talents may not be of any use in His
plans for us. We must be willing to sacrifice everything to gain His approval.
Paul counted everything he had gained in his life as dung. He threw it out to
be open to the wonderful life lived by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Heavenly Father we want to be a vessel meet for
the Master's use. We pray that you see our submission to Your will and that we
come forth from the proving fire with honour. We will no longer be afraid of
Your hand upon us because we trust You with our lives. In Jesus' name. Amen.