O house of Israel, am I not able to do to you as did this potter? declares YHWH Jeremiah 18:6
Potter – God sends Jeremiah to the potter’s house. Jeremiah witnesses the potter making a vessel from clay. But something happens. The vessel is ruined. What does the potter do? He starts again with the same lump and makes a new vessel. Why is the potter able to make a new vessel from the same lump of clay? Because the clay is still soft. What is God’s lesson to Jeremiah? As long as the clay is malleable, God can make changes for good, but once the clay is fired in the kiln, it becomes hard. Its shape is set. Only way to change it is to break it. Hardened hearts are the equivalent of kiln-fired clay. God can still initiate change, but it will take breaking. How much better to be soft clay in the hands of the Potter. Then mistakes can be managed easily, new shapes come quickly for revised purposes from the same material. How much better to be soft clay than a fired pot.
What good is wood that cannot be cut, stone that cannot be chiselled, cloth that cannot be sewn or clay that cannot be shaped? When we take on hardness of heart, we are no longer capable of being fashioned to fit. The greatest impediment to God’s plans for our lives is not lack of vision. It is loss of flexibility.
Is God able to shape you? Are you malleable in His hands? Or have you been through the kiln?
Or is your mind made up. Your opinions are convictions. Your actions are habits. Your decisions predetermined. You are steeled sagacity; sanctified self-assurance.
God can work with any kind of material. After all, He formed the universe. The only question we need to ask is how easily we allow Him to operate. He can still break hardened vessels, but the process is very painful. For God and for us. Soft clay is so much more fun. Why not enjoy the squeeze?
Excerpted from Today’s Word (16th Sept 2010) by my friend Skip Moen.
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Copyright Skip Moen
Changi Chapel 
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