The Good Potter
“So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.” - Jeremiah 18:3-4
According to Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart, this passage about the potter and the clay teaches us that sometimes the vessel the potter wants to make does not turn out the way the potter envisioned. Even when the clay won’t form to be the thing the potter wanted to make, a good potter won’t throw it out, but knows that something good will come of it.
When we are in a time of wilderness, it can seem like a waste. Not only do we feel we are walking in a wasteland, but our time there also feels wasted. However, God doesn’t throw out the wilderness, but knows that something good will come of it. Often our times in the wilderness lead to times of plenty, just like WWI and the flu pandemic of 1918 led to the roaring ‘20’s.
We may be on a winding road that seems to be leading nowhere. But God doesn’t waste this journey. God doesn’t throw it out. God knows that something good will come of it. Stay on the road. Keep molding the clay—one day you will see something good that you never could have anticipated. God is a loving potter and a trustworthy guide. Something good will come of this wilderness.