IN THE HANDS OF THE POTTER
The potter makes vessels of clay by
spinning and molding it.
As the potter molds the clay, he pulls,
presses, wets, stretches,
and spins
it to make it a useful vessel.
If there are stones, sticks, and foreign
material in the clay,
he
must remove them or the vessel will be marred.
If he is unable to remove the foreign objects,
he is forced to discard the piece of clay
and start over with some clay that he can
work with.
Sometimes when the potter is molding the
clay,
it
doesn’t yield to his hands and becomes marred.
Then he has to start over again.
After he crushes the clay into a lump and
remolds it,
then it may become the vessel that he
intended it to be.
The whole key to becoming a finished
product of value
is
in the clay being moldable.
The potter does the work.
The clay just yields.
God is also as a potter in our lives and we
are the clay.
How
like the clay we are.
Some of us are unwilling to let go of the
trash, stones, etc.
in our lives so that the Lord can mold us
into something useful.
If we refuse, He cannot use us.
But, if we are willing to let Him mold us,
even though it involves pressure, spinning,
wetting, pulling, etc.
The process may be slow and painful,
but we can become vessels of blessing and honor
by yielding to His hands.
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.
Jeremiah 18:1-4