We are clay in God’s hands. Allow God to mould you as seems best to Him.
In today’s sermon, we have two objectives. To look at the fact that we are clay in God’s hands and to look at how we can allow God to mould us as seems best to Him.
Main Text: Jeremiah 18:1-10
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands, so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.
In this text, God says His people do not allow Him to remould them, although they look ugly and useless.
Human beings are clay in God’s hands, and what that means:
At creation, we were made of clay (Genesis 2:7, angels were made of fire).
We mess up big time: there is nothing wrong with the gift of God he gives us; the problem is that because we are jars of clay, we are not able to keep the gift of God ( 2 Cor 4:7).
Humans are in the hands of God, like Clay in the hands of the porter. What this means is that if God thinks that your life is not turning out well, He remoulds it to His taste, as seems best to Him. And this is good
news. Because our lives will not be wasted. Only the porter can make good use of the clay; in the same way, only God can make good use of human life. No one can make your life better, only God (see Ezekiel 36:24-30; John 3:16).
When we die, we return to the earth, and the spirit God gave us returns to Him, and the soul faces judgement (Eccl 12:7; Job 34:15). Angels or spirits were made of fire, that is why if they sin, they go to hell fire.
How do we allow God to mould us as seems best to Him?
Trust God; He is faithful and knows what He is doing; allow Him to guide you (John 14:1-2; Phil 1:6).
Remind yourself that tomorrow is in the hands of God (James 4:13-17).
Be humble enough to allow God’s will to be done. This is part of surrendering your life to God. God’s will for you is perfect and very good (Proverbs 19:21); e.g. Jesus submitted to the will of the Father (Luke 22:11); Paul did the same, and Mary did the same.
Sadly, many believers resist the work of God in their lives ( Acts 7:51 ); Many resist the power of God to change them (2 Timothy 3:5). Don’t resist God.
Don’t allow people to deceive you and to give you false hope; listen to God and follow His plan (Jer 29:8 11). God’s plan for you will involve crushing, pressing, and repentance, but the new wine will come out.