Today’s Daily Bread ~ Clay

Jeremiah 18:1-4 – The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah.  He said, “Go down to the shop where clay pots and jars are made.  I will speak to you while you are there.”  So I did as He told me and found the potter working at his wheel.  But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so the potter squashed the jar into a lump of clay and started again.

I took a pottery class about 6 years ago.  Watching a skilled potter, it looks so easy.  When I tried it, the clay seemed to take on a life of its own, going every which way.  I usually had to start over two or three times before I got it to semi-resemble the picture I had in my head.

This passage of Jeremiah is one of the more well known passages of the Old Testament.  But before we go any further, I want to look back at Genesis 2:7 – And the LORD God formed a man’s body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life.  And the man became a living person.  The Hebrew word for “dust” in the original document is aphar.  The definition is this – dust (as powdered and gray), earth, mud or clay.

God is the potter, we are the clay.  And throughout life, He molds us and shapes us into the person He wants us to be.  Sometimes, when we’re really headed in the wrong direction, He’ll pick us up, squash us into a lump, and start afresh.  He does this as often as it takes throughout our life.  And that hinges on how pliable we are in His hands.

Once clay starts to dry and set, you can no longer mold or shape it.  For clay to be of any use to the potter, it has to bend and shift and move.  The potter’s wheel in Jeremiah’s time had to be spun by foot.  It took a lot of effort, a lot of exertion, and you really had to keep your eye on the clay at all times.  I remember watching my instructor at SMU, and once she got going she was so intent on her work.  Her hands would move swiftly around the clay, nudging it this direction, pinching in some places, widening in others.  And when she was done, she’d smile at her creation, and carefully set it out to dry.

There are a lot of occupations where we can phone it in, aren’t there?  Not pottery.  No one becomes a potter unless they really love to do it.  It takes incredible vision and concentration.  Potters are meticulous.  Just like God is with us.  He will not stop working on us until we breathe our last breath.

Life can be so uncomfortable, downright painful at times.  Be the pliable clay.  Be willing to let God mold you and shape you into the perfect reflection of Christ.  Just as clay hardens and dries, so do unrepentant, stubborn hearts.  When a potter can no longer work with clay…he throws it away.  When a sinner persistently refuses to turn to Jesus, God surrenders the person to his own, lustful desires.

Dear Heavenly Father, we love You so much.  Help us to remember that we are the clay, and that You are the potter who never takes His eyes off us, and promises to finish the good work in us that You started.  Help us to be pliable, Lord.  We know cognitively that Your plan is best.  Help our hearts to believe what our minds know!  When circumstances are uncomfortable, reassure us that You are still with us.  Comfort us God, and guide us.  Help us to be bold for You and to bless others with our faith.  We love You so much, God, and ask these things in the precious name of Your Son, Jesus Christ.  Amen.