Jeremiah 18:1-10

1 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! 7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
Jeremiah 18:1-10 NKJV

In the illustration of the potter and the clay God makes clear that a nation’s fate depends on the choices of that nation. It seems logical that the same principal would also apply to an individual. This story of the potter remaking the marred vessel into something different does not diminish the power of God to work in our lives, but shows that we have control through our choices as to what happens to us. This control is not necessarily the things that happen to us and for us from moment to moment, but the fate of our salvation. While God wants good to happen to us in that we will accept His gift of life and allow Him to save us, the final result of good versus evil and eternal life versus eternal death rests with us and the choices we make. When we choose to obey and trust God to the best of our ability, we allow Him to work the good in our life that He desires for us. When we turn our back on God and choose to live our lives outside His plan, we place ourselves outside the salvation He desires for us and bring upon ourselves the death we deserve. We are the clay and God works to make us into a beautiful vessel that is useful to Himself and helpful to our fellow men. Our sinful natures and Satan work to mar us with selfishness so that we are useless to God and harmful to our fellow men. God is willing to remake us when we become marred. Second chances and third chances and more chances are common as we struggle with the choices we make from day to day. God wants to build us and plant us so that we will be a vine connected to Him that produces good fruit. When we refuse His love we disconnect ourselves from His sin covering righteousness and are left destitute and naked with only our filthy selves to claim the reward we deserve. When we accept God’s love, we are covered with His clean robe of righteousness and stand clean and whole. The potter can mold us into something that is beautiful.

Lord,
Help me today to allow You to mold my heart into something that will obey and trust You. Help me to choose to follow Your will for my life each moment today. Help me to trust You and allow You to reshape me into the vessel that You know in Your wisdom I can be, to best serve You and help those around me. Forgive me when I refuse You and turn again to follow Your plan for my life. Take away my selfish weakness and give me the strength and courage to stand with You and to walk with You in Your plan for me.