Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: THE WHOLE WORLD IN GOD’S HANDS (not the song) (05/28/15)
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TITLE: New Spin on Life | Previous Challenge Entry
By Bonnie Bowden
06/04/15 -
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The potter slowly kicked the treadle with his foot, and the wheel started its circular rotation. As soon as the table picked up speed, a lump of soft terra cotta was centered on the post. The potter’s firm, wet hands started to shape and mold the clay into the jar he had envisioned.
The potter’s forehead began to furrow. Something had gone wrong--maybe a piece of straw or some errant stone had gotten into the clay. So the potter removed the impurity and began again. This time as the wheel whirled back into action, the clay yielded to the master workman’s touch. It became a splendidly pleasing vessel.
Then God gave the messenger these words: “Israel is like clay in my hands. If my people persist in doing evil, they will be destroyed. But if they repent I will make of them something good and strong. Go and tell them.” (www.saintgeorge.church)
He was the observer.
He was the emissary.
He was the prophet.
Like a mirror, he not only saw himself, but a reflection of every man, and of every nation represented in the clay. The clay itself did not decide the shape in which it would eventually take. Rather the potter knew what he needed and what he wanted, and formed the vessel as he pleased.
“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ (Isaiah 45:9, NIT)
It was not up to him to decide what he desired to be.
It was not up to him to decide what he desired to do.
It was up to God alone.
He saw the wheel, like life’s circumstances, constantly turning and spinning around him. However, God was in control not only of the wheel but at the speed at which it spun. He needed to trust the Potter because he didn’t know what the outcome would be or how long it would take for the wheel to stop.
The time had come to grow.
The time had come to trust.
The time had come to be put into service.
In the midst of this current crisis, he knew that God was using this experience to refine and purify him. He understood that the last step in the process was to be “tried by fire”. Otherwise, he would never be hardened or prepared for God’s plan for his life.
The potter sculpts and molds us.
The potter is in control.
The potter is sovereign over the clay.
As he walked up the hill from the Hinnom Valley, he turned around and knew he was ready. Jeremiah was finally strong enough for the function God wished him to perform.
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