Shaped By God

"The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!" (Jeremiah 18:1-6)

About 2,600 years ago, during Jeremiah's time, every village had a potter's house. It was a staple in ever community. So when God came to Jeremiah one day and told him to go down to the potter's house, it would have been like God coming to us and saying, "Go down to the corner gas station."

Jeremiah would have already been to the potter's house many times before. He was already very familiar with what happened there. So, what God was saying was, "Go down to the potter's house, Jeremiah; I want to show you some ordinary things."

When Jeremiah got there, God showed him a very ordinary thing, a pot being made, but what God revealed to him was something extraordinary. He was showing him His power to change lives.

Like a painter with a blank canvas, God sees something beautiful in us even before a single brushstroke is applied. Even more, God sees our beauty, though we are marred and broken in His hands. He is intimately at work in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).

God wants to do something extraordinary in our ordinary, broken lives. He still pleads with us today saying, "Come to me, marred and broken, and let me mold you into the beautiful vessel that I have in mind for you to be."

"God help me to be moldable today. Like clay in Your hands, my desire is to be formed into a vessel, both beautiful and useable to You."

Affection Addiction

I've been doing a lot of searching lately. Over the last two days I must have listened to at least a dozen sermons. I've been searching, but I really don't know exactly what I'm looking for. The best way to put it, I guess, is I've just been searching for...more. I want to go to a deeper, more self-shattering level with God. And lately I've encountered Truth in a surprisingly fresh way. I've been thinking a lot about things I've never given much thought to in the past; things like true beauty and what it means to live out God's dream for His bride.

This all started when I recently prayed that God would give me an injection of wisdom. I'm talking the kind of wisdom that's deep and fierce. The kind that when it hits you, it knocks you off your spiritual feet. I've prayed for this several times over the last 15 years or so, and each time it's like God gets me outright addicted to His word. I'm like a crackhead trying to get a fix. Every injection both satisfies me, yet leaves me wanting more.

God has stirred my affection for Him, and I am addicted to it. When I am addicted to knowing and loving Christ well, my life is richer, my relationships are deeper, and I have a vitality that is altogether uncommon. I want to hold on to it and never let go. Now, I am jealous for the things that stir my affections for God. My hope is that I can flood my life with Christ-exalting, worship-creating things and avoid anything that would rob me of the joy and vitality that I have when God is at the center of my affections.