The Potter and the Clay

‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand.’ Jeremiah 18:6 NIV

The prophet Jeremiah was instructed by God to ‘go down to the potter’s house’ (Jeremiah 18:2). God then spoke to him about Israel, using the metaphor of the potter and the clay. That metaphor applies to us too. Isaiah wrote: ‘We are the clay, you are the potter’ (Isaiah 64:8). 

God, as the potter, is able to mould and transform us, the clay, into something that he can use. But, in order for this to happen, we need to be willing to let him mould us. The potter can only work with clay that is the right consistency. If it’s too hard, or too wet, the potter can’t mould it. So, we need to make sure that we’re the right sort of clay for God. We need to be mouldable. If we’re too set on our own ways and our own plans, and not open to God and his plans for us, then we’re not mouldable. When we surrender ourselves to God’s plans and moulding, then he can mould us and shape us into something he can use. 

We may feel that we’ve become broken, useless and cracked. God can take us back to our clay form and create something new. He restores us, renews us and remakes us. It is a delicate process. God is gentle with us too and takes his time in creating a masterpiece. The question is: are we prepared to let him do it?

Isaac Williams
Assistant Chaplain – Wyvern House