One of my favorite worship songs was written by an Australian Worship Leader named Darlene Zschech: "The Potter's Hand". It captures the beautiful analogy of how a life surrendered to God is like clay in a potter's hand -- a concept Christians tend to associate with
Jeremiah chapter 18 verses 1-10.
The potter at the wheel is symbolic of God, and we are the clay He molds. What a comparison! Because just like a person, a lump of clay can be a fickle thing. Now this can work in the Potter's favor or it can grieve Him. The way it works well for Him is that "compliant" clay can be molded into any purpose that He desires. And we will experience a sense of fulfillment in our lives in the long run when we choose His will over ours. But clay that has too much water makes for a wobbly vessel, and clay that's too dry will cause the vessel to crack. So it's important that there is a balance. We don't want to spiritualize every event in our lives, but we also want to be paying enough attention that we recognize it when He is trying to get our attention, give us His directives, or He is moving on our behalf.
The Hebrew word for vessel in verse four (most of the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew) is a very general term and simply refers to something that's being made ready (or is ready) for a particular purpose. There is a story about a man born blind in the ninth chapter of the Gospel of John. Jesus spat on the ground, made clay, put it on the guy's eyes, and told him to go wash it off. Jesus told His disciples in verse three of that same chapter that this man-vessel's purpose was for the works of God to be revealed. What an awesome destiny! But if a vessel becomes marred, or more specifically, if we should choose a path of moral decay, or our leaders choose a path of moral decay for this nation, God's destiny for us changes.
It's important that we recognize that the passage about the potter and the clay isn't limited to just you and me. It can be applied to a whole nation. When those who lead our nation are applying the principles in God's Word to their decision making process, we are going to see God's favor and blessings poured out on the nation as a whole. But when our leaders allow our nation to become marred by ungodly agendas and insist on passing laws that are counter to God's Word, then our nation will experience negative consequences. In fact, this would apply to any nation. Jeremiah 18:7-10 does not name a specific nation -- it's a general, blanket statement. And a bill that has elements such as end of life counseling and taxpayer-funded abortions is certainly counter to God's Word. The good news is that those same verses also assure us that not only will God remake the destiny of repentant individuals, but He will also remodel the destiny of a repentant nations.
We serve an incredible God who sets each of us apart for a specific destiny. Though we all start out as "a lump of clay" in His hands, His loving eyes look beyond who we are, and He sees the potential for who we will become as He continues to fashion us beyond the clay.
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