And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. –– Jeremiah 18:4
We continue to dive deeper into our Bible study on the lessons from the potter’s house. Last time, we looked at the clay as the potter was doing his work. This time, our lesson comes in the work of the potter.
Jeremiah shared that the clay was in the potter’s hand as it was being spun on the wheel. The potter was in the middle of making a vessel, but something happened. Jeremiah doesn’t share what happened specifically, but he shares that the vessel became marred, as the King James Version of the Bible states here.
The original Hebrew word used here for marred was shâchath. The word carries the suggestion of being spoiled, ruined, or hurt. With that definition in mind, I am very intrigued by what Jeremiah records next. He shares that the vessel was marred in the hand of the potter.
The situation did not happen because the clay was left alone on the wheel. The potter had the clay in his hand the entire time. He was working with it, shaping it, applying pressure, and providing water. Yet, amid all that, the vessel still found itself marred.
There’s a tremendous lesson for us here in the potter’s house in this thought. There are a lot of people that would like you to believe that if you live for God, you will never face difficulty in life. They want you to believe that all of life’s hurts come about because you have sinned, or that you are not doing as God would have you do. Yes, those can indeed be causes of difficulty in life.
The truth is that you can still find yourself in the middle of difficulty right in the hand of God. You can be in the center of His will, as God is working on you, and find yourself marred. You can find yourself in trials, difficulties, and challenging circumstances. You will still find yourself facing heartache. You may still face financial difficulties, work challenges, health issues, or so many other things.
This doesn’t mean that God made a mistake at all. It speaks to the uniqueness of every child of God. God has a plan and a purpose specifically for you. Not every vessel is made perfect on the first try. Sometimes they become marred.
Maybe you will find yourself marred in the hands of the potter. You may find yourself in difficulties and challenges. But don’t worry, the potter is still in control! As a child of God, you are still in the hands of our potter!
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