A RELENTLESS POTTER. By Pastor Fernando

Scripture:
So I did as He told me and found the potter at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so the potter squashed the jar into a lump of clay and started again.
Jeremiah 18:3-4

Observation:
This passage is an amazing picture of God’s resilient grace and mercy. He never gives up working on His people. He doesn’t get weary when their hearts don’t turn as He wants. He simply starts again, from scratch, caring for His people until the clay is moldable in his hands and becomes the product that He always intended. He is a relentless potter. He will not give up until His is perfected. God is not impatient. He is not in a hurry. He knows what He wants and He will be persistent working and molding our hearts until He likes what comes out.

Application:
I don’t know where would I be if God wasn’t a relentless potter. Many times my clay was not workable and He had to squash me to start all over again. This has happened several times as He molds my character, as he builds my ministry, and even as He helps me to be a better husband, father, and friend. God will never give up on me, even if He has to start all over again in my life. I should learn more from Him. Deep inside I know that I’m not a relentless potter.

My tendency is to give up when I fail. If the jar is not turning right, I would become impatient, probably throw away the clay, and move from pottery into gardening, or something else. When I help people to develop the character of Jesus and to grow in their personal relationship with God, very often the clay of their hearts will not turn as I had hoped. To start all over again requires too much compassion and grace. That’s where I need more of the character of Jesus in my life. I need to become more relentless in the mist of failure. Disaster doesn’t come when we fail, but when we give up. I don’t want to give up on people. I want to be willing and patient enough to start all over again if necessary until the final product looks like what God has intended.

Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for encouraging me to don’t give up on people and to believe the very best even in the worse of individuals. Let the clay of my heart be moldable in your hands. Do in my life whatever needs o be done so I can glorify your name. Squash me and start over again when I fail to turn in your desire. And let me learn form you as I get involved in the formation of others. Give me the patience to strat all over again, if necessary, until they become according to your design. Amen!