The Comfort of the Potter’s Hands
(5 minutes)
The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh saying, "Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will make you hear My words." Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he was making something on the wheel. But the vessel that he was making of clay was ruined in the hand of the potter, so he turned around and made it into another vessel, according to what was right in the eyes of the potter to make. (Jeremiah 18:1-4)
"Jeremiah is obssessed with hearing God's voice. He'll go anywhere God tells him to go. He'll do anything God tells Him to do. He doesn't care about the circumstances he's stepping into; he only cares about hearing the voice of the Lord for himself. Is that your obsession? Is that your focus?" (Pastor Tim)
This must become our true north: hearing Abba's voice for ourselves. We must become utterly obsessed with what He is speaking over us. This is the fruit of a surrendered, seated life. Because you can't hear His voice when you're running around, starved for affection, and striving to get the illegal validation of those around you. You can't receive from the Kingdom until you're seated in rest.
Jeremiah asked no questions and gave no opinions when Yahweh told him to go down to the potter's house. He simply heard Yahweh's voice and responded with, "Yes, and I do!" What if our ability to hear His voice hinges on our already possessing a heart that is determined to listen to Him no matter what? You can desire to hear His voice, but if your opinions and long-held beliefs are more important to you than His heart concerning a matter, you will likely struggle to hear Him speak. Yahweh is not one to waste a word.
Jeremiah witnesses the potter at the wheel and watches him remake a vessel. Like Pastor Tim said on Sunday, the most beautiful vessels we've seen all started as dirt and water, spinning violently on the wheel, being shaped by the hands of a potter. "The clay doesn't get to determine how fast the wheel spins, what the wheel looks like, or what it will be made into. It can't look up at the potter and say, 'I don't like the way you made me.'" (Pastor Tim)
We must be willing to let go and lose control. This is what submitting to Yahweh's wheel looks like. How much control do I get to keep in this Kingdom? Can I bring any of my old ways and beliefs with me? Can I just add to my life the parts of the Kingdom that I like and agree with, or must I surrender to it all? We know the answers to these questions, and that's why we struggle. Our issue is trust. Our broken hearts simply cannot do it. This is why we must allow Abba to mend our brokenness. And that's precisely what He's trying to do on the wheel. Remember, the clay was marred in His hands, but Abba takes that brokenness and completely reshapes us - He makes us again into another vessel, one that’s healed and whole.
"You have to make a decision. Do you want to stay the vessel you were before, or are you going to allow youself to be put on the wheel? There's a benefit of being on the wheel, though. The potter's hands are always on the clay. There is a benefit in the spinning. You can feel the comfort of the potter's hands." (Pastor Tim)
Those beloved sons and daughters who are making the journey into healing and complete wholeness made one very important decision from the start: I'd rather be in His hands than anywhere else.
Beloved One, can you open your heart to trust, one more time? You've felt the illegal fingerprints of mishandling in your past and you know, deep down, that they broke you, but the Potter's hands are not the same. Abba's hands don't break...they bind up. They don't abuse...they restore. The hands your heart has longed for were always His. The clay is held by a potter. The child is held by a father. Will you let Abba hold you in this same way? It only requires one thing: a restful trust.
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Worship: "You Restore Everything" by Rick Pino & Abbie Gamboa
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!
