The Potter's Wheel

Life sometimes spins out of control.

Jeremiah 18:1-6 says, "1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD : 2 "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 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.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel."


God is the potter. We are the clay. We are on the potter's wheel. There are several lessons we learn about God and His attitude toward us in this illustration of the potter and clay.

Throw it Away



Have you ever thrown away something because it didn't seem to work or you didn't like it? In this passage The Potter made a pot that was blemished and marred. He could have discarded it, but He didn't. Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when potters are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot. The Potter still saw potential in the clay. It's still good. God doesn't discard you when you make mistakes, but reuses you shaping and forming you into what He wants you to become. Peter is a great example. He messed up. God didn't throw him away and say your no good to me. In fact, Jesus went back to Peter, reshaped him and reused him. God will still use you even when you have made mistakes.

Fresh Start


There was a flaw in the pot. It was marred. It was imperfect and blemished. When the potter didn't like what he made the first time, he started all over again. Do you need to start over? Do you need a fresh start? A do-over? God is in the business of giving you a fresh start. 2 Cor 5:17 says, "....if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Have you made mistakes in your past? Have you committed adultery, had an abortion or premarital relations, addicted to pornography, stolen, lied or cheated? If you come to The Potter and repent, He will give you a fresh start! It's called being born again. It's a new life.

Reshaping

The Potter didn't like the first pot, so He reshaped it to what He thought was best. Do you not like who you are or what you have become? God is in the reshaping business. If you don't like what you've become God will reshape you into what He thinks is best for you.

Spinning Out of Control

Have you ever road the tilt-a-whirl at the carnival? It spins uncontrollably making you sick. The potter's wheel is similar to the tilt-a-whirl. Everything is spinning. You feel pressure. You are bending and moving in places you never felt before. When everything seems to be spinning out of control and you feel pressure, know that God is working on you making you into a beautiful, valuable and useful pot.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 "20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 21 Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work."

When everything seems to be spinning out of control stay on the wheel. God is reshaping you into a beautiful vessel for Him.