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It is amazing how quickly life has changed for all of us. In just a matter of weeks, factories are shut down, shops are closed, churches are only on the internet, concerts and sporting events are cancelled, grocery store shelves are empty. You can’t buy toilet paper and I can’t watch baseball. Who could have ever seen this coming just a month or two ago? It seems like life has changed for us in just a matter of a moment.

The truth is, in life, there are moments when life changes overnight. No, it does not affect everyone, but for the one who is affected, it is life changing. Maybe it is a pink slip, a doctor’s report, or a call in the middle of the night. It may deal with family, friends, or community. To the child of God, we must look at how we process these changes. How are we reacting to the events around us? The question comes down to who is in control. It’s a matter of faith, trust, and confidence as we travel down life’s road.

We can never lose sight of who God is. God specializes in making treasure out of trash, jewels out of junk, glory out of garbage, riches out of rubbish, and majesty out of a mess. In other words, God makes good things come out of bad situations (Romans 8:28).

My thoughts have been drawn to Jeremiah 18, where we find the Potter and the clay (Scriptures are below).

It is here that the Potter puts the clay on the wheel. We must understand that He decides what the clay will become. He, alone, is in charge of the process. In my world, I want to be happy, and I want to be healthy, but God wants me to be holy above everything else, so He puts me on the wheel. And it spins. I am not controlling it, the Potter is. Here the Potter will take some water (His presence, power, and touch – John 4:14) and sprinkle it on the clay as it turns. He is taking out the rough spots, the impurities within the clay, such as rocks or small branches. These things would cause it to crack during the firing process. Maybe there are things in our lives that need to be removed, so our Potter places us on the wheel. Maybe He is searching our hearts for fear, or pride, or resentments, or jealousy, or unforgiveness, or prejudices, or hatred, or gossiping… anything that keep us from being what God wants us to be.

In verse 4 it says, “the vessel that He made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter.” Now I have an issue here, because it really isn’t a vessel yet. Sometimes God says things that, if anyone else said them, would seem to be a lie. But sometimes God calls you in advance what he knows you will be. Remember that, when Gideon was hiding behind a rock, the angel referred to him as a mighty man of valor. God was not stating who he was, but who he was destined to be. As Jeremiah watches, something unexpected happens—the vessel was marred in the hands of the potter. Notice what it says, the vessel was marred in the hands of the potter. We must deal with the reality that you can be saved and in the church, and still be marred. The problem was not in the hands, but it was in the clay. There was a flaw in the material.

So here the Potter has a choice to make, does he throw it away or remake it? The end of verse 4 says, “so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.” I am so thankful for the God of the second chance. But notice the wording, so he made it again into another vessel. Think about that for a moment. So he made it again – the same, into another vessel – not the same. It’s me, but it’s not me. Same me, but a different me. Same brain, but a new thought. Same tongue, but a different talk. Same legs, but a different walk. Same hands, but a different work. Same lips, but a new message. Today I am thankful that loved me right where I was, but He did not leave me there. Sometimes the Potter wants to put us on His wheel.

Remember these facts while on the wheel of God.

  • God has placed you there (Psalm 37:23).
  • God has a purpose for the wheel (Philippians 2:12-13).
  • God pours His water on us (Isaiah 44:3).
  • You will become what God has destined you to be (Judges 6:11-16).

Scriptures Referenced in article

Jeremiah 18:1-6 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: 2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!

Isaiah 64:8 “But now, Oh Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou art our potter; for we all are the work of thy hand.”

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.

Philippians 2:12-13 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Isaiah 44:3 ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants;

Judges 6:11-16 Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. 12 And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

13 Gideon said to Him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?”

15 So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

16 And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.”