A friend of mine sent me this message and I want to share it with you all! Jeremiah 18:1-6 ¶
The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
When Jeremiah observed the vessel that was in the potter's hand, I can imagine, what the potter first beheld, did not line up with what he had originally intended for the pottery to be in his mind. What caused the clay to become "marred" (ruined, decayed, and destroyed) in the hands of the potter? Perhaps it was dropped; perhaps certain elements found its way into the clay compromising its integrity. Perhaps the clay went through issues, lost loved ones, was struggling with certain addictions, experienced financial difficulty ect. I don't know for sure, however we do know that he was probably dissatisfied with the vessels current state. So much so, he decided to "remake" the same vessel over again. The problem lied not in what the vessel was called but in the functionality of what it was designed to do.
So much we at times; God has designed a "wheel" appointment for us. If we stay the course, if we stick through the pinching, squeezing, cutting, strenuous grabbing; if we can survive getting thrown on the table, time after time, after time, we qualify to wear the glory of that potter. Even today, when you look at pottery, notice what stands out to you the most? In certain cases, doesn't the beautiful design and expression of the vessel stand out to you more when you first see it, before you consider its function, if it's a decorative piece?
You even consider how well it would go with your décor. Not so with the potter. The potter appreciates the effort and the work that it took to get the vessel to where it needed to be. The buyer seldom appreciates the hard work and integrity the vessel had to go through, but the potter does. The initial and middle process is not only crucial, but very intimate for the potter. The potter establishes a one on one relationship of creativity with the clay. He takes the clay as their own and puts time, effort, love and dedication into the work that would represent them for ages to come. Though the process is almost violent at times; this lets us know that the most difficult time of our lives--the times that we are experiencing hell and high water, is the time God is most intimate with us.
A time where God is doing His most costly design and labor; He has His hand directly on different areas of our lives, shaping here, molding there, tearing hear, replacing there, all so that we can not only represent the awesomeness of His glory, but function in the way that He sees fit. He molds us so much so, that men won't be confused as to determine our original purpose. That's why it's so important to stay on the wheel and see the conclusion of the matter. The potter has an image that has already been sketched in his heart and mind on how he desires the vessel to look and function. When we know this about God, we can then have the confidence to "count it all joy", knowing that we are in the potter's hand in our rough times.
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