If you turn over to Romans 8:29 tells us that we are to be conformed to the image of His Son… and that very idea implies something… it is stating that as we stand right now, we don’t conform to the image of Jesus Christ… and this verse is also stating that God has a plan that will take us from what we are, to what He wants us to be.
Now you might be asking… “how does that change take place in our lives” …. now don’t miss the connection here to verse 28, because it is the “all things” that God uses in our lives that work out for good.. but the Good is that conformity to the image of God.
There are many analogies in the scriptures that God uses to describe our relationship with Him. And many of them bring certain images to our minds both positive and negative and you can look at them any way you like, but the more you think about them, the analogies become clearer.
In my opinion, there is no greater imagery of our relationship with God than this picture of the potter and the clay. But some things about clay that we may not have thought of, if the clay is not soft and pliable enough to be molded, they it will not be shaped properly by the potter. The potter has a goal in mind… it is to take something that has little value, and turn it into something that has great usefulness… but to do this, there is a molding and a shaping and a sculpting that must take place in the life of that believer.
Two thoughts about deciding to be clay…..
#1) Be where you need to be Jeremiah 18:2-3 Notice the ability of God to shape Jeremiah in this analogy… notice the first 4 words of verse 2… “Arise, and go down”… and notice the first 4 words of verse 3… “Then I went down”.
There is a willingness in his life to be instructed… and for many people the ability to be clay stops right here… there is not a willingness to be instructed… there is not a openness to what God might have for them beyond where they are in their spiritual lives.
God here wants to teach something to Jeremiah… this lesson which is going to give Jeremiah a greater understanding of God… will never take place without Jeremiah yielding to the direction and the instruction that God had for him.
Not look at verse 18:2… and notice the word “there”… this is a very specific place that God wants jeremiah to be. If jeremiah goes anywhere else right now, God will not give him the instruction that he intends to give him..
I ask this question… “Where does God deal with you”… “Where are you spoken to by God”… and by that I mean where are you being challenged in your spiritual life… where does God take you to that next decisions… where is the Spirit of God speaking to you at… because when you answer that question… that is the THERE for you.
Illustration: You know, when a potter is starting with a piece of clay on a pottery wheel, they place it on a some type of a knob in the center of the pottery wheel… if for some reason that piece of clay moves and it comes off center, the potter cannot work with that piece of clay, until it is back in the center of where it is supposed to be.
What I have noticed in many peoples lives is that when we are on this potters wheel and it happens to be a painful time… so often we remove ourselves from the place where God can shape and deal with us.. we take ourselves out of that center position and now the potter cannot work in our lives in the same way…
#2) Be what God wants you to be. 18:4 Notice in verse 4 the word “marred”… it has to do with the fact that this vessel wasn’t coming out like the potter determined that it was coming out… so the bible says that He… the potter… made it again.
Let me ask you something… who decided that the vessel, which represents us… was marred… who decided what needed to be changed in your life and in my life… who put us on the wheel of the potter in the first place? It was the creator… it was the one who has already figured out what He can best do with your life.
It can be painful, it can be a long process at times… but the potter has something in mind.. he wants to use you in a way that you might not be able to imagine right now.
I read a book from a young man who was going through cancer and he said this…
“Clay doesn’t have a will. Clay doesn’t expect, presume, or worry. Clay doesn’t resist or fight. Clay doesn’t have an agenda or a script. Clay has two simple jobs—sit still and stay soft.”
Do you know what I learned about the potter… is that once that clay is on the wheel, he never takes his hands off it. The whole time this guiding and shaping is going on, the potter is in constant contact with that piece of clay.
Can I remind you of something… when you are on the wheel of the potter… can I challenge you to trust in the character of God rather than the circumstances that you can see.
Can I challenge you to Decide to be Clay… let him mold you… be where God speaks to you, and allow God to shape and mold your life… and you say… “You don’t know what is going on in my life”… but the God of heaven… the potter, gave us what you and I need to get through life victoriously.
I know that the easiest thing to do is to collapse in your despair… but that is not wht God wants in your life… stay faithful… stay soft… stay on the wheel
Decide to be Clay
Your comments and questions are always welcomed.
Pastor





