CLAY IN THE POTTER’S HAND

 “Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in my hand.” (Jer. 18:6)

“But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay and thou our potter;” (Isa. 64:8)

The nation of Israel was chosen, called and redeemed by the Lord. They were brought to the land of Canaan and were given the law and the promises. But now they are backslidden like a stubborn heifer. They began to live in immorality, injustice, idolatry and the worship of Baal. It seemed there was no hope for them, because of their sin and rebellion. In Jer. 18:16 God is giving a ‘vision of hope’ to the prophet Jeremiah, taking him to the potter’s house. God is showing to the prophet that He is not despaired of His chosen people. He is not willing to cast them away. But He is giving them a “second chance” and decides to use them again for His glory among the nations. 

This is a heart-searching message the Lord gave me when I was going through a dark tunnel of depression because of my sin. This message has forced me to my knees and brokenness. This message brought personal revival to my soul. So, this message comes to you from my experience and with a sincere desire for your personal renewal. 

Here we see 3 things: the Potter, the Clay and the Wheel.

The Potter is God. He is the mastermind. He is the designer. He does not require any pattern. His shelf is full of finished products.

 

The Clay represents you and me sinners. The clay has no shape and no beauty. It is worthless. So are we. But the potter gives shape, beauty, value and usefulness. His hands ‘caress’ the clay inside and outside. 

The Wheel stands for ‘circumstances’ – incidents, accidents, joys, sorrows, success and defeats. The foot of the potter controls the wheel. Sometimes fast and sometimes slow. He decides the speed of the wheel. Clay cannot complain. 

We see four steps here in the making of the vessel.

1) The Vessel Made

The potter takes the worthless clay, squeeze and mix into a sticky paste and then throws it to the center (hub) of the wheel. With his feet he drives the throttle and makes the wheel rotate, some times fast and sometimes slow. All along he ‘caresses the clay inside and outside’ until it comes to a good shape that the potter envisions (designs). That is the way God did mould and shape Jacob the deceiver to be ‘Israel’ having power with God and power with man. 

He shaped the ‘self confident Moses’ to become the leader for the despised Hebrews who lived in slavery. God shaped the ‘Choleric Paul’ and impulsive Peter to be His great Apostles. God transformed the despised fisher men to be ‘ambassadors of Christ’. He chose and raised ordinary people to be powerful preachers of the glorious gospel. D.L. Moody, Charles Finney, William Booth, John Wesley, Hudson Taylor, Adoniram, Judson and William Carey were such people. 

2) The Vessel Marred

“And the vessel that He made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter” (v. 4b)

A vessel in the making can be marred because of two reasons. Not because of the inefficiency of the potter. Vessel gets marred when there is any ‘foreign substance’ hidden in the clay – like grass, stone, wood. Sometimes it gets marred when the clay moves away from the center (hub) of the wheel and goes to either sides or extreme ends. 

Though God the potter has beautiful design and plan for us, we get shapeless and marred when we do not remain in the center of His will. Gehazi, Samson, Lot, David, Demas and Jonah are just few of those examples. Vessel marred when we keep secret sin in our lives, God cannot shape us according to His plan. 

When we move away from the Bible and give emphasis to traditions, customs and practices, we become shapeless. We start over emphasizing a doctrine or a custom. Yes, this can happen to you and me, even after years of experience with the Lord and serving God faithfully. In our self will and in our pride, we forget the one who raised us. Then we start doing things according to our ego and to satisfy our lust and fleshly cravings. Any vessel can be marred (spoilt) when we forget God the potter and try to manage ourselves. “When we try to manage ourselves, we damage ourselves”. “We fall from paradise to the pit” in shame and pain. 

3) The Vessel Remade

“So he made it another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it”. (v. 4b)

When we go astray from His will, when we fall in sin, when all our friends lose hope in us, when we feel so cornered by sin and Satan, when we lose hope and when we almost quit from His service, God is not tired of us. In His Grace, he pursues us. He is ready to make us into ‘another vessel’ fit for His use, though it may not be according to His original plan. It may not be according to our liking. When we lose our ‘first best’ God in His mercy gives us ‘the second best’ and we should gladly accept that, though it may not be our first preference. Our paths may change. Our ministry may be different than before. Our community may change. Our friends circle may be new and different. But we have to accept it without any grudge and irritation. It is His Grace and mercy that He decides to give us a ‘second chance ‘and use us again.

Samson committed sin with Delilah. He lost his power and his eye sight. But he repented. Though he did not get his sight back, he was able to slain hosts of heathen people at his death, by the power of God. 

God prepared Nathan to confront David about his sin with Bathsheba. David repented. God forgave. God used him again. The whole world may have thought of David when he fell in sin “David has sinned. He is gone. He will not sing again. His harp will not play again. His cup is empty. It will not be full again”. But God forgave Him and remade him. He wrote many more beautiful songs. He ruled Israel many more years. “David recovered all” says the Holy Bible. “A man after my own heart” God certified about him. What a glorious ending!

Jonah rebelled and went against the will of God. But God in His mercy and love prepared the storm, the fish and the juniper tree for his repentance and restoration. Jonah was used by God again for the greatest revival in Nineveh!

Peter was self-confident. He thought he would never fall. But he denied Jesus three times. He went back to fishing, misleading six other disciples. But the loving savior came after him and restored him. The Lord reappointed him to shepherd the flock of God. Peter became the first preacher after Pentecost. Thousands of people were saved. God used him to pen two of the tremendous and rich epistles. 

The young man, John Mark got discouraged right in the middle of the missionary travels. He went after the attractions of the world. The most respected apostle Paul labeled him as ‘useless’ backslider who is a bad example to others. But God in His Grace used him again. Apostle Paul at later times certified of John Mark,” Please send John mark to me. He is useful”.

Dear friend, are you down hearted? Are you fallen? Are you forsaken and hated by all. Have your closest friends left you? Have they lost confidence in you? Do they say, “We will never believe him again? He will not be useful again.” Oh, my friend, please know that God is not despaired of you. There is hope for you. If we yield to His perfect will, the end shall be greater than the beginning. More glorious days for God will be yours. Abundant ‘fruit bearing will surely come after the pruning and cutting’.

4) The Vessel Perfected

Finally, let us go again to the potter’s house and watch how the remade vessel is made strong and beautiful. Though the vessel is remade, it is still soft. The shape can be changed if the vessel remains like that. So, the potter will cast the vessel into the fire! He will increase or decrease the heat of the fire according to his calculation and will. The vessel cannot complain at all about the severity of the heat. The potter knows how much heat it should endure/ go through. But that is only for a season. In the end the vessel will come out beautiful, shining, strong and useful. The vessel is perfected for the masters’ use. James in Chapter 1 and Peter in 1 Pet. 1 talk of this ‘fire of manifold trials’ that God will bring in the life of a believer to make him strong in patience and faith. Both these apostles exhort us that we should not murmur or complain when we have to face those trials. 

Are you in agony because of a severe fire of trial you are facing, brother? Do not be discouraged? God is working on you, to make you a vessel beautiful and useful for His use. He loves you. He is purifying you out of all the dross in your life. Just continue to endure patiently. You will finally come out as a man/woman reflecting the beauty of Christ.

One young man saw a cocoon struggling in pain so hard to bring out the butterfly. He took a scissors to cut it open and release the butterfly. Then an elderly farmer said to him, “No dear young man, let it struggle as long as it needs to struggle. Finally, cocoon will break by itself and a beautiful butterfly will come out. But if you try to help it, there will be an abortion and there will be no butterfly”. What a precious lesson. 

God can rebuild your broken world, though the process of restoration may be long and painful. “David recovered all” by the Grace of God, though he had lost all (I Sam. 30:18, 19). “Word of the Lord came again the second time to Jonah” though he had rebelled against God and gone to the wrong direction. (Jon. 3: 1). God used Peter again, though he had denied Jesus three times.

God can use you again, dear brother, when you repent and return to the Lord. You can be a vessel remade for the Master’s use.