Your words…
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down at once to the potter’s house; there I will reveal My words to you.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, working away at the wheel. But the jar that he was making from the clay became flawed in the potter’s hand, so he made it into another jar, as it seemed right for him to do. The word of the Lord came to me: “House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay?” – this is the Lord’s declaration. “Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel. Jeremiah 18:1-6
You have turned things around, as if the potter were the same as the clay. How can what is made say about its maker, “He didn’t make me”? How can what is formed say about the one who formed it, “He doesn’t understand what he’s doing”? Isaiah 29:16
My words…
Praise
I worship You, Lord, as the Master Potter, skillfully touching and molding Your creation. You see the lump of clay on the wheel not as a lump, but as a useful vessel waiting to be formed by the hands of its Creator. Your loving fingers shape the clay into something You can use. You don’t make ornamental statues that sit on a shelf and collect dust. Your pottery collection is made up of bowls, plates, pitchers, urns – pieces used in the service of others. And if the clay contains a defect and does not bend and mold in Your hands, You do not scrape it off the wheel and throw it away. No! You work the clay again because You see the clay as valuable and worth Your effort. Just as the earth spins, so does the Potter’s wheel. The molding and shaping never ceases.
Forgive me
I am the clay. I was made to remain on the wheel and submit to Your hands. Forgive me when I become rigid, unbending to Your will, fighting to be something You do not intend for me. If I am to be a cup, who am I to say that I would rather be a vase?
Prayer for me
Sometimes I feel chipped, cracked. Some days I would like to be set on a shelf and not used. Strengthen my spirit to remember that a chipped, cracked cup in Your service is worth more than a gold, jeweled vase encased in glass.
Prayer for others
I pray today for those who have turned things around and believe they are their own potter. They know of You but refuse to claim You as their maker. They say, “He didn’t make me. He doesn’t know what He’s doing.” You see each of them as a vessel yet to be formed. They remain rigid on the wheel, yet you keep the wheel spinning.
Thank You
Thank You for never giving up on us, Your children. You are not a frustrated potter, throwing clay from the wheel. You are the loving Potter who remains at work, imprinting Your will on our lives.
More praise
Only You, Lord, can mold me into what I was born to be – a vessel made according to Your will. When You use me as Your vessel, I am living the most abundant life possible because that is what You promised me. You fill me – Your vessel – with Your love, with Your Spirit, and I am glorified! And that is abundant life. Oh that every lump of clay would yield to Your loving fingers!
Your words…
Lord, I seek refuge in You; let me never be disgraced. Save me by Your righteousness. Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly. Be a rock of refuge for me, a mountain fortress to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; You lead and guide me because of Your name. You will free me from the net that is secretly set for me, for You are my refuge. Into Your hand I entrust my spirit; You redeem me, Lord, God of truth. Psalm 31:1-5
My words…
Praise
How precious is Your relationship with David, the shepherd-poet-king. I have learned so much about You through his Spirit-guided words. He knew what it meant to be a refugee – homeless, running for his life, hiding in caves. He knew where to find perfect refuge, and he held the key: He entrusted his spirit to You, and You welcomed him into Your mountain fortress of protection and comfort. The same refuge is open to me, and I, like David, hold the key. When I surrender my spirit to You, I enter into Your protective custody. Satan’s trebuchet, hurling boulders of discouragement, distraction, entitlement, and doubt, is impotent and useless against Your might. The boulders bounce off the walls of Your fortress without dislodging a stone.
Prayer for me
I am not pursued by the same kind of enemy as David. I have never been driven from my home, wrongly accused, or maligned. But I am targeted by the Devil’s arrows. He blurs the lines between what is right and what is wrong. He uses subtlety to poison Your message by awarding credence to godless thinkers. And I fall for it. Strengthen my spirit to recognize and avoid this trap.
Forgive me
Forgive me for the times I refuse to use my key to enter into Your protection. Trusting You completely, surrendering my will to Yours requires strength that sometimes eludes me. I am tempted to believe that I can live outside of Your will and expect Your protection anyway. Pardon my insolence.
Prayer for others
Father, I pray for the countless refugees of this world. They are homeless, running for their lives, hiding in caves. They are huddled together in makeshift towns, oppressed and exploited. Evil ones have cornered them and cut off their way of escape. Families are separated. Innocents are slaughtered. They need a refuge! Many of them profess Your Son as Lord. They pray for release from their tormentors. I know You hear their prayers. I add mine to theirs. Provide a place of safety for them on this earth.
Thank You
Thank You for opening the fortress doors and welcoming all who flee to You for safety. You turn no one away. And thank You for preserving the words of those who proclaim You as their rock, their fortress. Their words are the path which lead me to Your door.
More praise
Your scriptures are filled with metaphor as a way of bringing Your unsearchable character into focus. Although there is no metaphor that comes close to capturing Your full character, You as my refuge is one of my favorite. There is no other stronghold as powerful as You. Into Your hand I entrust my spirit.
