Being God's Vessel

Jeremiah 18:2-6 (New International Version)
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.

Psalm 73:26 (New International Version)
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Psalm 121:7 (New International Version)
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

Hebrews 12:7-11 (New International Version)
7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

When I was about nine I got a pottery wheel for Christmas. I used to love placing a wet piece of clay on the wheel and to feel it spinning under my fingers. I would form a shape, then smash it and start forming something else. I would spend more time just building something up and then smashing it and starting over than actually making something. I loved the process more than the finished product. I did eventually make a few things and when they were fired and painted I would give them to my Mother and she would think they were beautiful, even though they really weren't!

Today's scripture makes me think of that story in a different light. God puts us on the potter's wheel and uses his hands to form us into the vessel he wills....be it a pot to hold a plant with strong roots, a vessel to pour out love or knowledge, a cup to hold the tea of friendship, a casserole dish to feed others. Each lump of clay becomes something different and unique. God is the Master Potter who shapes our lives.

However, there are times in our lives when we turn away from that purpose....something causes us to jump off that potter's wheel. We place a lid on the vessel God has created and place it on a shelf and it becomes dusty and is pushed behind other "more important" things on that shelf. We become sidetracked.

It is not God who has sidetracked us. It wasn't God who placed the vessel on the shelf. We are the ones who tightened the lid and and put ourselves on the shelf. I read a saying once, "If you feel far from God, guess who moved?". We are the ones who need to become obiedent to God , the Master Potter. He is still there ready to remold us with his Master plan...into the vessel of his will. He wants us to become as beautiful as that flawed piece of pottery my Mother displayed so proudly!!

Prayer:
Lord, You are the potter and I am the clay. Make me into a vessel of Your love, into the person You want me to be. I place my trust in You, as my ultimate parent. You know where my talent is needed. You know what vessel I need to be to best serve you. My clay is not perfect, but mold it into the best servant of Your word I can be. I know You love me and are concerned about me. Thank you for taking the time to mold me in Your image. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.