The Reshaped Pot

​Identity Found in God

​The Potter and The Clay
~ The Potter
~ The Clay
~ The Idea
~ The Plan
~ The Refining Fire
~ The Reshaped Pot
~ Living as His Clay Pot

The Reshaped Pot
 
Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.”  Jeremiah 18:5-6
 
I remember sitting in church as a little girl with the red, egg-shaped case of silly-putty.  Oh the fun I had taking the lump of putty, rolling it in my hands, and shaping it into a variety of creations (all while listening to the sermon, of course!).  I remember making different sized balls, and then attempting to stack them on top of each other to create a snowman.  I remember the frustration if they were either the wrong size, or they kept falling over.  I would take them all in my hand, roll them all together and start all over with another plan.  Stretch it. Pull it.  Roll it.  And then there were the moments when an outside force affected my creations.  Maybe a hymnal got set down on my perfectly shaped snow ball, flattening it!  That didn’t stop me…not when I had a snowman to build.  I could take that Silly Putty and roll it right back up!
 
Our Potter has that kind of control.  A story found in Jeremiah 18:1-12 describes the Lord’s words to Jeremiah.  He told Jeremiah to head down to the local potter, a common trade in those days.  Jeremiah went down and noticed the potter doing his thing at the wheel.  He observed the potter and his clay pot, which was described as this, “the pot he was shaping was marred in his hands”.  I can imagine, the clay that was spinning around was just not taking the shape he wanted.  But instead of letting it be, or giving up out of frustration, Jeremiah witnessed him as he “formed it into another pot, shaping it as it seemed best for him”.  Just sit with that for a minute.
 
Then the Lord said to Jeremiah, “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?  Like clay in the hands of the potters, so are you in my hand.”  Oh how the English teacher in me loves this comparison!  God has power to reshape us.  When we find ourselves flinging around on the potter’s wheel, God has the power to take us in His hands and “shape us as it seems best to Him”.  As we are flattened by a threatening “hymnal” that comes down upon us, our potter has the capability to pick us back up and carry on with His plan.
 
Unlike Silly-putty, which is a mindless substance, we have a part in this.  The passage in Jeremiah talks about the responsibility of the house of Israel.  God desires repentance, for us to surrender into His hands.  To be willing and open to what God desires to reshape us into.  Do you feel as though you, your pot has a defect or a flaw?  A sin?  A hurt?  A scar?  Are you a cracked pot?  Broken?  Lift up your head, surrender it all, and gaze into the loving eyes of your Potter.  He can take the broken pieces into His hands and mold you back together. Your Potter’s hands are ready to reshape you into what seems best to Him.  Can’t you hear His voice asking if you believe this, “Can I not do with you as the potter does?”
 
Grab your Bible and read the whole passage of Jeremiah 18:1-12.  Set your own stubborn plans and thoughts aside.  :) Place yourself in His hands.  Pick up all your pieces.  Bring every part of your brokenness.  Gather every hurt, every flaw, every wrong decision, every sinful thought, every scar that you have and plop it all into His hands.  He wants to use all those things and reshape you into what seems best to Him.  Write it all down and have peace in the clay pot He is about to reshape in you.