Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
May 15, 2023
Jeremiah 18:1-6
1 Jeremiah received the LORD’s word: 2 Go down to the potter’s house, and I’ll give you instructions about what to do there. 3 So I went down to the potter’s house; he was working on the potter’s wheel. 4 But the piece he was making was flawed while still in his hands, so the potter started on another, as seemed best to him. 5 Then the LORD’s word came to me: 6 House of Israel, can’t I deal with you like this potter, declares the LORD? Like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in mine, house of Israel!
Good Morning; The Holy Spirit is at work within us.
Isaiah 64:8 “But now, oh Lord, you are our father. We are the clay, and you are our potter. We are all the work of your hand.”
I remember first seeing a potter’s wheel in the JC Penney Christmas Catalog. It looked so cool. When you look at the picture of the box, you see someone with their hands covered in the wet clay as the wheel spins, and you see completed pots that look beautiful. What you don’t see are the misshapen pots, the big mess, and the frustration on the face of the potter.
I have watched potters work in a village of artisans and purchased some of their work. Just before I moved from Afton, I met a potter who had some pieces displayed at the farmer’s market. She had a pattern called Afton Mountain, which touched my heart because this is where my ministry began. She approached me as I looked at a plate, and I asked her if she had made chalices.
She admitted that she had not but had considered doing so. I bought the plate and gave her a deposit for a chalice in the same pattern. When it was completed, she called me, and I went and picked up my beautiful chalice. She admitted that this cup on a broad stem was challenging, but it finally came together.
When I consider God as our potter, I am humbled by our amazing God. First, I think of all the mess we present to God for molding and shaping. We give God clay full of imperfections. Then I think of the times that we purposely damage our clay because of our stubbornness and belief that we are in control. We’re reckless, and we forget or choose not to do what we promised to God. So, our pots become cracked, misshaped, dingy, weakened, and even broken into pieces.
Finally, when we cannot fix ourselves, we return to God with our messed up pots and say, yes, please fix me; I’m ready. God once again molds and makes us new. I think of how many times I have done this, and then I think of the infinite number of God’s children doing this very same thing. God’s potter's wheel must never stop spinning. When I sing or say, Our God is an Awesome God, I realize how small and insignificant just one of my needs or complaints must seem to God.
Through God’s amazing grace using “superpowers” that we can’t pretend to understand, God cares for us and our needs as if we were the only child suffering. I know the Holy Spirit within me will keep the wheel spinning until my transformation is complete.
Blessed God, We thank you for Your blessings. We are weak, but you are strong. We love you for your patience when we forget our promises to you. Thank You! In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Today, I will begin to let God mold me into a new creation.
Renew and Refresh with God! Pastor Liz
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