Made It Again

Jeremiah 18:4
“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.”

The parable that God uses in the verse above is about Israel. God said in verse 3 that He “wrought a work on the wheels.” In other words, God had a vision for Israel, and He worked hard at making that vision a reality. However, something bad happened. The clay “was marred in the hand of the potter.” God’s initial vision for Israel was destroyed. Something happened that marred the vessel. The great part about this parable is that God didn’t give up on Israel. Instead, He “made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.” Though the original vision that God was no longer a possibility, God remade His vision and worked it until it became a reality. There are several lessons in this parable that apply to your life.

First, you are nothing without God. You are simply clay in the potter’s hand. Never think that you are something without God because you are just a piece of clay without God. It is the fact that you are in God’s hand that brings any value to your life.

Second, God has a vision for you. The potter had a vision in his mind before he started working with the clay. Before God ever started working in your life, He had a vision for you. Your desire should be to find that vision and live according to it. To live in any other vision other than God’s vision, no matter how good it may seem, is to minimize and rob your life of its potential. Your life is most impactful and most valuable when you live in God’s vision for your life.

Third, being marred is not a death sentence. This is the truth I want you to see. Just because the clay became marred didn’t make the clay of no value. Just because you do something in life that disables God’s original vision for your life doesn’t mean that God cannot use you. The verse above teaches that God can make you again. God doesn’t give up on your life when it becomes marred, and neither should you. God’s power is not so small that He cannot remake your life when it becomes marred. So, sin has marred your life; let God remake your life with His new vision for your life. No, your life may not be what it originally was supposed to be, but it is still valuable to God. Yes, you are the one who allowed something to mar your life, but God didn’t give up on you, and neither should you give up on yourself. Don’t let the guilt of being marred keep you from becoming another vessel for God to use.

Fourth, God’s remade vision is still good to God.In the verse above, God makes a critical statement when He says, ”…as seemed good to the potter to make it.” In other words, God will be as pleased with His remade vision as He was with the original if you will let Him remake you. You must stop trying to get back to the old vision that God had for your life before you became marred and live in His new vision that He has for your life.

Moreover, don’t let the mar in someone’s life become the gossip that comes from your lips. If God is pleased with His remade vision for someone’s life after they became marred, it should not be your position to try to keep them from being used. It should please you that God can use people again because it only magnifies His power, and it could be you in the future whom He has to remake. Stop judging people’s indiscretions and let God use them again.

Author: Allen Domelle