This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Jeremiah 18:1-4
If I were most honest, this morning I woke up not feeling the most beautiful. Clearly, when I wake up, there is nothing beautiful about that look, but I’m not referring to the beauty on the outside . . . I felt not so beautiful on the inside. I felt broken. And in my brokenness, the pieces of my life seemed scattered. Like a favorite vase on the shelf that had fallen and shattered to the floor, I saw my life in a million pieces and the impossible task of cleaning it up and even more, the impossible ability to put it all back together.
It’s important to know that there was nothing that occurred to cause me to wake in this state except the fact that I know the evil one is in the business of deceiving me in what I think about me, what others think about me and in what and whom I trust.
But in my brokenness, I collect the pieces . . . big, small, tiny and seemingly insignificant and pile them at the foot of His cross! Why would I even want to do this? There is a very good reason why! Because my God is the Potter! He is my (and your) Restorer! He makes ALL things NEW! He takes my brokenness and makes something beautiful. When you understand the grace that is ever so sufficient for even me, you will see Him. You will see this beauty, not without the seams from healing, the scars from the process, the marring. But praise Him — He didn’t stop there! He kept shaping, kept molding, kept forming — and He continues to make beauty!
Lord Jesus, you have made all things well! Today you have shown me the sufficiency of your grace for me in all things. Remind me of my brokenness every day! May I never live a moment without recognizing the position of your hands upon the sides of my life as it spins on the wheel. You’ve never let go, you’ve never stopped, you’ve never tossed the clay and started over! Thank you for the beauty of ashes that only comes from the refining fire of your Spirit!
by Mark Cruver