This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord; “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as the potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.

Jeremiah 18:1-6

Have you ever watched a potter work, as Jeremiah did in today’s passage? It is amazing to see something lovely begin to take shape from a lump of clay. In this passage God was showing the prophet that the nation of Israel—as well as every person from the beginning of time—was to be shaped by His hand. We are all lumps of human clay waiting for the touch of the master Potter.

When a potter places the lump of clay on the wheel he already has a design in mind. The same is true of us—God has determined how He plans to work in our life and what part we are to play in building His kingdom. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

Each believer will be shaped differently to carry out the unique service God has in mind for him or her. But regardless of our special equipping, we all bear the unmistakable imprint of our Potter.

Have you ever looked around and wished you had the talents or abilities of someone else? We have been perfectly designed for the purposes God has for us, and He makes no mistakes. If we spend our time wishing for talents that do not suit God’s plan, or if we refuse to use the spiritual gifts He’s given us, we waste His effort and our opportunity to serve Him.

As we look forward to a new year, let’s focus on being more yielded to the plans and opportunities that God has made us for. He wants to pour out His blessings on us as we yield to Him.  

Janet