Jeremiah 18:1-6 (NASB) says, “1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. 4 But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 6 “Am I not able, house of Israel, to deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel.”
The prophet Jeremiah gives the nation of Israel a message of hope! Oftentimes, prophets in the Old Testament get a bad rep because they spoke a great deal in regards to judgment coming upon Israel as a result of idolatry and the lack of repentance. Their bondage, and sometimes even destruction, was never the intent or heart of God! Instead, God’s heart was to see them successful and prosperous, but this could never happen if their hearts were turned completely away from Him!
To illustrate this message, God tells Jeremiah to go to the potter’s house. He witnessed how the clay would actually mar or even ruin in the potter’s hand, but instead of just throwing the clay away, He puts it back on the wheel. It wasn’t necessarily the potter’s fault that this happened. It would be easy to blame the potter had he quit and completely given up on the clay, but that’s not what he does. He puts it back on the wheel to mould it into exactly what he has envisioned for it to be!
It is the same way for us! Our mistakes and failures do not have to define us. Our past doesn’t have to determine our future. You cannot judge the book of someone’s life by a bad chapter. You simply just have to get back on the wheel. If God isn’t giving up on you, then why should you give up on you? You just have to place your life in His hands and go in the direction He would have you to go. God has an incredible vision and plan for your life, and it becomes easier for us to not see that when we look at our lives and see only how it has been marred! Submit to the hand of the potter, the Creator of heaven and earth, and follow His direction. If He didn’t throw the clay away, then why throw your life away?
Israel, however, found themselves in an awkward place because instead of getting back on the wheel, or “will”, of God, they believe they had reached the epitome of their faith and gave room for pride to creep in. They believed they had become untouchable and continued in the pride of their idolatry. God told Jeremiah, “You are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you and say to them, `Thus says the LORD of hosts, just so will I break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place for burial” (Jeremiah 19:10-11).
One of the most dangerous places you can ever reach spiritually is when you have become unteachable and have convinced yourself you have seen and heard it all. Instead of growing and moulding into the image of Christ, you become a vessel that is destined to be broken, and it is in this broken place that you come to the valley of decision. Do I remain in this place, or do I start over and become the vessel God intends for me to be? A vessel of pride will break, but it is much better to be a vessel that contains the oil, His precious Spirit and anointing. Even if you feel like you are beyond repair, know God is still the Creator!